When Natural Hazards Intersect with Public Health: A Preliminary Exploration of the Impact of Bushfires and the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Coastal Drowning Fatalities.

Natural hazards combined with the COVID-19 pandemic have had significant global impacts to the community and the environment. This study explores the impact of the Australian 2019/20 bushfires followed by the COVID-19 pandemic on unintentional coastal drowning fatalities. Fatality data were collated using triangulation methodology. Percentage change in coastal drowning fatalities between 2019/20 financial year (FY) and the 15FY annual average (2004/5-2018/19) were calculated for the dominant bushfire period (August 2019-February 2020 inclusive) and COVID-19 restrictions in place for 2019/20FY (March-June 2020 inclusive). Relative risk (RR; with 95% confidence intervals [CI]) of coastal drowning was calculated against the average for overall, bushfire and COVID-19 periods, using coastal participation data as the denominator, weighted for the predicted decrease in the use of outdoor coastal areas due to these widespread events. Coastal drowning fatalities increased in 2019/20FY by 9% overall (bushfires: 6%; COVID-19: 9%). Swimming/wading drowning fatalities increased during the bushfire period (RR = 2.02; 95% CI: 1.13-3.63), while boating and personal watercraft (PWC)-related fatalities increased during both the bushfire (RR = 2.92; 95% CI: 1.41-6.05) and COVID-19 period (RR = 3.86; 95% CI: 1.64-9.11). Rock fishing fatalities also increased across both the bushfire (RR = 4.19; 95% CI: 1.45-12.07;