Hawaiʻi Suicide Rates Down During Pandemic

(AP) — The Hawaiʻi Department of Health said suicide rates decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with previous years. The Maui News reported 2020 data provided by the health department doesn’t indicate a significant connection between suicide and the pandemic. The average number of deaths by suicide were higher in February, just before the pandemic hit, and lowest in April, June, September and December. The health department says preliminary data shows there were 124 suicides from April through December 2020. That’s lower than the 150 suicides in the same nine-month periods from 2015 to 2019.