[phkahler]

I dont doubt Covid has caused a bunch of these deaths, particularly in the first wave. But it would be nice to break out suicides and overdoses, as mental health issues are on the rise as a result of lockdowns and the economic fallout.

[Taniwha]

Here in NZ during our much harsher, but only 6 weeks, lockdown we had a small number of covid deaths, but they were eclipsed by the drop in the road toll - thru 2020 the almost lack of a flu season due to the covid precautions meant a further drop in the annual death rate.

[tantalor]

"road toll"?

Is that an idiom or do you mean fees charged to drivers?

[ceejayoz]

"The death toll incurred by driving on roads".

[Taniwha]

yes this - we have a socialised medical system, the government understands that reducing the demands on our health system by reducing the number and severity of car accidents is a useful thing, it reduces the costs we all have to pay.

So our police, who are responsible for picking up the pieces, do continual public outreach encouraging people to drive safely/sober/etc the yearly "road toll" is a continual metric that is used to show how well we are doing as in "the road toll this easter has been higher than last year, please drive more slowly"

[londons_explore]

The fact that the 0-24 age range (typically dominated by car accidents and suicides) doesn't see much change suggests that the effect you are suggesting is small or nonexistent.

[tremon]

Your argument doesn't prove that. Using that logic, given that we (collectively) make much fewer car miles due to the lockdowns, we should see a downward change in that age range. Since we don't see a change, that may mean that suicides are on the rise, offsetting the reduction in traffic fatalities.

[chollida1]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/suicides-alberta-bc-s...

Here in Canada we've been told suicides have gone down during the pandemic.

[newsclues]

In my city, in 2021, 10 Covid deaths and 13 opiate OD deaths.

[craftinator]

This is FUD.

[meragrin_]

> This is FUD.

Really?

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/02/02/9620601...

https://www.aappublications.org/news/2020/12/16/pediatricssu...

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/opioid-overdoses-29-higher-202...

[craftinator]

Ah sorry, UI issue on my HN app, it posted my response to the wrong comment. I appreciate the link to the sources regardless, in the current environment that's becoming more and more necessary.