Teen commits suicide six weeks into COVID-19 lockdown in Sydney
(Natural News) Daisy Long wanted to explore the world after years of battling a debilitating chronic illness, but the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had put her plans on hold. A prolonged lockdown had shuttered those plans permanently.
The 19-year-old university student took her own life on Aug. 6 – six weeks into the ongoing lockdown in Sydney, which is part of a larger lockdown in the Australian state of New South Wales. The lockdown was initially set only for two weeks – starting June 26 and ending July 9. But it had been extended several times as the state struggled to contain the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19
“It’s been extremely difficult. I’ve felt like there’s just a missing piece in my life,” said Tiggy, Daisy’s younger sister. “Daisy was like my other half to me. Daisy was the one who taught me strength and she went through many challenges in life. She always had a smile on her face and held her head high.”
Daisy was chronically ill with a tick-borne disease between the ages of 13 and 16.
“During those years, when she should have been at school having fun and enjoying herself, instead she was bed-bound,” said Sally, Daisy’s mother.
“We kept saying to her ‘once you are better, your life will be better and you will go ahead and achieve your goals and dreams.’ She focused on that. She applied for psychology at Macquarie University, was accepted and began her degree this year. She received high distinctions. Then COVID lockdown began. It sent her spiraling downwards.”
## Lockdown feels like prison
Tiggy saw the harrowing effect lockdown had on her sister. (Related: Extended coronavirus lockdowns having severe negative effect on mental health of children – report.)
The increase in suicides was only one of the numerous reasons lockdowns were considered “the single biggest mistake in public health history” by Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford University Medical School epidemiologist and public health expert.
He called the harms caused by lockdowns “extremely multi-dimensional” and traumatic, especially to children. “It’s not possible to reduce to a single number,” he said. “For a child who skips a year of school, the consequences will last a lifetime.”
According to Bhattacharya, lockdowns led to dramatic increases in poverty, food insecurity, outright starvation, depression, anxiety, suicide and death. (Related: Suicide spike in Japan linked to coronavirus pandemic; Prevention measures must be implemented immediately, experts warn.)
Last year’s data supported his claims as most of the excess deaths in the U.S. were not attributed to COVID-19. Excess mortality is the best gauge of the pandemic’s impact. It compares the overall number of deaths with the total in previous years.
While some of those deaths could be undetected COVID-19 cases, and some could be unrelated to the pandemic or the lockdowns, preliminary reports point to some obvious lockdown-related factors.
Friday, September 03, 2021 by: Nolan Barton