Coronavirus may be contributing to drop in child abuse reports

Coronavirus may be having an unintended effect on the number of reported instances of child abuse in the region.

Calls to San Diego County’s Child Welfare Services Child Abuse hotline dropped in as mandatory stay-at-home orders started to take effect in March.

On Wednesday, March 12, there were 402 calls to the hotline. The next day, Thursday, March 13, the hotline saw 243 calls. Local school districts began to announce school closures that day, virtually all of which took effect the following Monday. The hotline has averaged less than 150 calls per day since then, with just 100 calls April 11...