A crisis line in B.C.’s Southern Interior says there’s been a substantial increase in calls during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, calls to the Vernon branch of the Interior Crisis Line Network saw a 20-per cent jump in the week after the World Health Organization declared the pandemic on March 11.
The branch also said during the last two weeks of March, 25 per cent of all calls were directly related to COVID-19. “It is reassuring that people are reaching out to us,” said Julia Payson, executive director for the Vernon branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). [ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ] “It shows our efforts at fighting