File photoA spike in drowning deaths has been blamed on Covid-related factors as Australians holiday at home and more swim in remote, unpatrolled areas. There were 294 drowning deaths across the nation's coastline, inland waterways and pools in 2020/21, according to annual reports from Royal Life Saving Society Australia and Surf Life Saving Australia. The reports, released on Wednesday, identified spikes in drowning deaths immediately after large-scale lockdowns, as Australians increasingly holidayed domestically and swam in unfamiliar locations. Twenty-five of the drowning deaths in 2020/21 involved children four or under, up 108 per cent from the previous 12-month span. In another familiar trend, men accounted for 80 per cent of drowning deaths.

Source: Otago Daily Times September 07, 2021 17:37 UTC