Suicide deaths in N.J. likely fell in 2020, defying fears amid the coronavirus pandemic
Updated Feb 14, 2021;
Suicides in New Jersey likely fell in 2020, despite widespread fears that the stresses of the coronavirus pandemic would cause more people to take their own lives.
Preliminary state data recorded 636 deaths by suicide last year, down from 757 in 2018 and 723 in 2019. And while 2020′s figures are expected to rise as more suicide investigations are completed, they suggest that the strain of the past year did not translate into a rash of new suicides, as many worried it would.
That deaths would instead decline is counterintuitive, considering the deep impact of COVID-19, which has altered life in countless ways, robbing many youths of their schools, many workers of their livelihoods and many seniors of warm interactions with their children and grandchildren.
Parents of young trader who died by suicide: Robinhood is to blame 02:56
New York (CNN Business)After their son s death, Dan and Dorothy Kearns said they were horrified to learn that their panicked 20-year-old repeatedly tried and failed to get in touch with Robinhood about his negative account balance of $730,000.
College student Alex Kearns mistakenly believed he owed that staggering sum of money and took his own life last June after his desperate pleas to Robinhood went unanswered, according to his family. Alex left a note that signaled confusion about his negative Robinhood balance. Anyone would be in a state of panic to see those numbers on their screen.
By Matt Egan, CNN Business After their son s death, Dan and Dorothy Kearns said they were horrified to learn that their panicked 20-year-old repeatedly tried and failed to get in touch.
A pandemic plus: Florida suicides plummeted. Experts worry it wonât last
According to preliminary Medical Examinerâs statistics, 2,975 people committed suicides in 2020. Thatâs a drop of 13 percent from the previous year, and 16 percent from 2018.
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ReportingOnSuicide.org offers these tips if someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide. The U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 800-273-TALK. [ DAVID CARACCIO | Miami Herald ]
By David Ovalle
Updated Feb. 10
The coronavirus pandemic has clearly stressed out countless Americans. But in Florida at least, one mental health barometer actually improved â fewer people killed themselves in 2020 than in any time in recent years, newly released statistics show.