Photo Courtesy: Canadian Press

By Veronica Beltran

overdose deaths remain high

Overdose deaths remain high in Northern Health and across B.C.

Sep 23, 2020 | 10:33 AM

VICTORIA—Updated reports on illicit drug toxicity deaths have been announced by the BC Coroners Service this morning (Sept.23) and they show that in Northern Health, deaths in recent months have increased an remain high.

The month of August saw a total of 147 deaths to illicit drugs in B.C.—a 71 per cent increase over the number of deaths in August 2019 but a 16 per cent decrease from the number of deaths in July 2020.

“The BC Coroners Service has detected a sustained increase of illicit drug toxicity deaths since March, and B.C. has now recorded six consecutive months with over 100 illicit drug toxicity deaths.”—Release from the BC Coroners Service

Post-mortem toxicology testing suggests an increase in the number of cases with extreme fentanyl concentrations in April, May, June, July and August, compared to previous months. From April to August of this year, close to 14 per cent of illicit drug deaths showed signs of extreme fentanyl concentrations compared with eight per cent from January 2019 to March 2020.

In total there have been 1,068 illicit drug deaths so far this year in B.C. The total number of illicit drug deaths so far this year have surpassed the overall total for 2019, while the number of non-fatal overdose incidents have also increased significantly—BC Emergency Health Services reporting close to 7,500 overdose calls throughout the province this summer.

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