The coronavirus pandemic is having a troubling knock-on
effect on Canada’s opioid crisis, with drug-related deaths up
sharply in the spring, a government report said
Wednesday.
Canada’s special intragovernmental advisory committee on the
opioids epidemic said 1,628 people died of opioids overdoses from
April to June, up 58 percent from the previous quarter.
It was the highest total number of opioid-related deaths in any
one quarter since national statistics were first compiled in
2016.
“Prior to the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in Canada, we were
seeing early and promising signs that opioid toxicity deaths were
beginning to decline in some areas of the country,” committee
leaders said.
“The national data released today offers insight into the severe
and worsening impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the
overdose crisis,” they added.
Experts said opioid users were facing increased risk because of
the pandemic, which has sparked increased unemployment and
homelessness as housing costs soar.
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“We must act now to change these troubling projections. We must
renew our collective efforts across the country.”
In the first half of 2020, approximately half of all
opioid-related deaths also involved the use of a stimulant, such as
cocaine or methamphetamine.
“Unfortunately, updated projections released today by
the Public Health Agency of Canada suggest that these numbers may
remain high in the coming months,” the committee said.
From January 2016 to June 2020, more than 17,600 people have
died in Canada as a results of the opioids crisis, data showed.
Faced with the spiralling epidemic, the Canadian government
recently created a Can$300 million (US$235 million) emergency fund
to help bolster provincial health systems to treat those in
need.
Read more https://swordpress.com.ng/2020/12/17/pandemic-making-canadas-opioids-crisis-worse/