Victoria’s coroner says any suggestion the state’s suicide rate spiked during lockdown is false.

“It hasn’t gone up,” John Cain said of Victoria’s suicide rate.

“In our state, each year, there are slightly over 700 suicides and we are on track for the same number – a very troubling number, I might add, it is a lot of deaths but we haven’t seen a noticeable increase as a result of the difficulties of 2020.”

Despite this, there have been increases in people seeking help for mental health issues and increases in self harm presenting at hospitals.

Mr Cain said the fact that hadn’t translated into an increased suicide rate was a sign increased funding was working.

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