Suicide rate decreased for the first time in a decade in 2019: CDC

PHILADELPHIA — New data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the national suicide rate last year decreased for the first time since 1999. While the suicide rate for 2019 declined by 2.1% — a total of 833 fewer deaths — from the previous year, experts said this progress could be derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. The effects of COVID-19 on suicide won’t be measurable for some time, but rates are expected to have increased during 2020 as mental health worsened. “We don’t know why it happened,” said Dan Romer, research director at the Annenberg Public Policy Cen...