Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews Dec 30, 2020 7:01 AM CUMBERLAND, Maine, Dec. 17, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Is there a connection between the number of lightning death reports and the COVID-19 pandemic? The National Lightning Safety Council (NLSC) is trying to find out. Amidst uncertainty surrounding the accurate (actual recorded) number of strike deaths in the U.S., members of the NLSC are wondering if the pandemic could be a factor in the reporting of lightning deaths in 2020. “Our primary source for information on lightning deaths is from broadcast and print media reports,” said John Jensenius, lightning specialist and founding member of the National Lightning Safety Council. “With this year’s media coverage primarily focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, the election, social injustice and unrest, and the devastating wildfires in the western United States, lightning deaths and injuries did not get their usual news coverage.”