Ontario saw a jump in opioid deaths during 2 years of pandemic compared to pre-pandemic

Opioid overdose death. Image credit: Unsplash

Ontario saw more opioid deaths in the second year of the pandemic compared to the first with a dramatic jump in deaths both years compared to pre-pandemic, according to newly released data.

A drop in opioid deaths in the province in March 2022 was indicated by the preliminary figures from Ontario’s Office of the Chief Coroner.

 2,790 Opioid-related deaths were recorded from April 2021 to March 2022, up slightly from 2,727 in the first year of the pandemic, the coroner’s office reported, a large from 2019, when opioids killed 1,559 Ontarians.

According to the data, the death rate dropped by 10 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year.

The hardest hit due to opioid deaths in the province was Northern Ontario with problem getting worse, with more than double the mortality rate in the region.

The most common substance found in those who died from opioids was Fentanyl accounting for 88 percent of deaths in 2021, up from 86 percent the year before, which itself was a big jump from 53 percent in all opioid deaths in 2019.

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