US gun deaths soared in 2020 amid pandemic: CDC

The number of gun deaths in the United States underwent a "historic" increase in 2020, possibly due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and poverty, according to a report by health authorities published Tuesday.

The US racked up 19,350 firearm homicides in 2020, up nearly 35 percent as compared to 2019, and 24,245 gun suicides (up 1.5 percent), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in its report. 

The CDC deemed both the murders and suicides by firearm "persistent and significant US public health concerns."

The firearm homicide rate stood at 6.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020, the highest in more than 25 years. 

The proportion of murders involving guns increased most notably among men, teenagers and young adults, and in African-American and Native American communities, the CDC said.

No region of the United States has been spared, although homicides have risen the most in counties with high poverty rates and large ethnic minority populations.

People also die by suicide more often in poor, non-metropolitan and rural areas.

"One possible explanation is stressors associated with the Covid-19 pandemic that could have played a role" in the rise, said Tom Simons, an expert in violence prevention at the CDC.

"These include changes and disruptions to services and education, social isolation, economic stressors such as job loss, housing instability, and difficulty covering daily expenses," he told reporters.

The report also notes that the risk of violence is linked to "longstanding systemic inequities and structural racism" in the country.

ME