The mental health of Victorian children and teens, a low-risk age group for COVID-19, is suffering after being forced into the fourth lockdown in 12 months, with attempted self-harm and suicide rates surging. Kids Helpline, a national 24/7 confidential support and counselling service for 5 to 25-year-olds, revealed that the attempted suicide rate of Victorian teenagers shot up by 184 percent in the past six months. Young people aged 13 to 18 accounted for three-quarters of total crisis interventions from Dec. 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021. Over 40 percent of crisis interventions were responding to the intent of immediate suicide. Calls for help from primary school children as young as five also rose drastically by 80 percent during the 12 months to March compared to the previous year (pdf). Victorian schools have been closed for a total of more than 22 weeks, around half a school year, compared to …