The province’s initially first count of overdose fatalities in 2019 shows a sharp drop from former yrs but a variety that continues to be miles earlier mentioned what was the moment viewed as “normal” for British Columbia.

There ended up 981 illicit-drug-overdose fatalities in B.C. very last yr, according to a B.C. Coroners Support (BCCS) report released today (February 24).

That is down roughly a third from 1,543 fatalities in 2018 and 1,495 the yr before that.

B.C. main coroner Lisa Lapointe observed that the whole for 2019 is pretty much the actual variety of fatalities B.C. saw in 2016, the yr the province formally declared the overdose disaster a community-health and fitness unexpected emergency.

“Far more than five,000 life have been misplaced in B.C. considering the fact that 2016 as a result of illicit drug toxicity,” she claimed quoted in a media release. “The variety of illicit drug toxicity