A father told “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Thursday that his son may not have died because he was infected with the coronavirus, but his suicide was a result of the self-isolation the disease caused.
Speaking of the “months of lockdown” that have been the official response to the coronavirus across America, Fox News host Tucker Carlson said, “As of tonight, one-third of all Americans show signs of depression or anxiety or both — [and] they are dying in unprecedented numbers.”
“Unfortunately no one understands that as a well as a Brad Hunstable does … and it’s hard to even say this but he just lost his son Hayden who was locked down as well.”
“Tucker, 41 days ago, right above my head, my young 12-year-old boy, three days before his 13th birthday, took his life. Hayden was a normal kid, he wasn’t depressed, he loved athletics. I created a video that has since gone viral and I said he died of the COVID virus. He didn’t die of the virus but he died certainly because of the COVID virus,” Hunstable said.
“Isolation has created — and what I believe and what I worry about and what I warn every parent tonight — an emotional tsunami is sweeping the nation. I’m very concerned about it. (RELATED: President Donald Trump: ‘We Have To Get Our Country Back … It Was Artificially Closed’)
Fox News medical contributor Marc Siegel has noted that the coronavirus is producing more “deaths from despair” than the disease itself. Health and Human Services Sec. Alex Azar has also said that reopening the economy is no longer about health versus the economy but “health versus health” because of the adverse affects the lockdown is having on the health of Americans.
Hunstable recited the shocking statistics that indicate suicide is the second leading cause of death of those aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 34. He said that some studies have shown that 80% of suicides are “impulsive … in that the decision is made very, very quickly.” (RELATED: Report: JP Moran Found Infection Rates Are Decreasing In States That Ended Lockdowns)
“So when you combine that with social isolation which is not the human condition, you set up a perfect storm and the scenario where we have seen what has taken place all across the country.”
A nearly empty subway platform is seen at the 42nd Street subway station during the coronavirus outbreak in New York City, New York, U.S., March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Hunstable noted that there is still a “stigma around suicide, I know it can be taboo, I know people don’t want to talk about it because they don’t know what to say … [but] we have to talk about it. What we’ve done the past hasn’t worked.”
“I implore every American, every parent out there. If you’re working on the patio outside grab your son, your daughter, take them to Home Depot, take your kid on a walk. Conversations matter and we are in a heightened state of anxiety.”