National

Overdose deaths drop in August from July in B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Sep, 2020 07:59 PM

British Columbia's coroners service says 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.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C.’s First Coronavirus Case Confirmed By Additional Tests, Provincial Health Officer Tells

DR. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer (PHO), on Thursday issued the following statement regarding the first case of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV):

B.C.’s First Coronavirus Case Confirmed By Additional Tests, Provincial Health Officer Tells

Port Coquitlam Woman And Community Care Society Charged After A Woman Dies In Care

A caregiver from Port Coquitlam, and the society that contracted her, have been charged after a 15-month investigation into the death of an adult woman who was in their care.

Port Coquitlam Woman And Community Care Society Charged After A Woman Dies In Care

Suspect Identified And Connected To A Series Of Alleged Assaults In Glen Park

Coquitlam RCMP plainclothes investigators have identified a suspect who is being linked to seven alleged assaults in or near Glen Park at 1149 Westwood Street, Coquitlam. The suspect was previously unknown to police.

Suspect Identified And Connected To A Series Of Alleged Assaults In Glen Park

Indigenous Young People File Complaints After Victoria Police Arrests

VICTORIA - British Columbia's police complaints commissioner says it has received several complaints about use of force by Victoria police during the arrests of young Indigenous protesters inside a cabinet minister's office.

Indigenous Young People File Complaints After Victoria Police Arrests

Care Access Up In Canada But Electronic Medical-Record Use Lags Behind

VANCOUVER - Family doctors in Canada are providing increased access to care compared with most of their counterparts in 10 other countries butstill lag behind when it comes to using electronic medical records, findings of a survey show.

Care Access Up In Canada But Electronic Medical-Record Use Lags Behind

RCMP Pipeline Checkpoint 'Arbitrary And Discriminatory,' Say Complainants

VANCOUVER - The Wet'suwet'en hereditary clan chiefs and their supporters want a public investigation into the way the RCMP are controlling access along a rural road in northern British Columbia.