The BC Coroners Service recorded seven deaths in August related to illicit drugs in the city, pushing the year-to-date total to 29 and past that seen for all of 2019, when 25 were counted.
Six of the deaths involved fentanyl. Year to date, that total now stands at 23 and just five fewer than that seen last year.
BCSC noted that at 40 deaths, the Northern Health region has has the highest rate per 100,000 people in the province. In August, there were 16 deaths across the region, up from 14 the month before.
Across B.C. the coroners service said 147 people fatally overdosed in August compared with 86 deaths during the same month last year. However, the latest number of monthly illicit-drug deaths are lower than the 176 now confirmed for July and the record of 181 fatalities recorded a month earlier.
Data from the coroners service show overdose deaths began increasing in B.C. just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, when 113 people died, up from 73 in February.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe has said border closures during the COVID-19 pandemic have stopped the flow of typical drugs that come into the province, creating business opportunities for those manufacturing even more toxic substances.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has urged people to use drugs only in the presence of someone equipped with the overdose-reversing medication naloxone.
Last week, she issued an order that is expected to soon allow registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses to write prescriptions for safer drugs that are an alternative to those bought on the street.
- with files from The Canadian Press
