The BC Coroner’s office released a report on Thursday saying that 498 people have died from drug overdoses in the first quarter of 2021, up significantly from last year.
The BC Coroner's office released a report on Thursday saying that 498 people have died from drug overdoses in the first quarter of 2021, up significantly from last year.
That number averages out to more than five deaths per day, and is 97 more (roughly 25 percent) than the same statistic from the year 2020, which in turn was a record-breaking year all-around.
According to Global News, the province declared a public health emergency just over five years ago because of the alarming number of drug overdoses occurring, and they have been increasing ever since then.
If things continue on this track, we could see around 2,500 overdose deaths in BC by year's end, which would represent almost 30 percent of all overdose deaths in the past five years, since the emergency was declared.
Around 80 percent of the victims have been male, according to the report.
Earlier in Apr. 2021, paramedics responded to a record single-day number of overdoses and potential overdoses. There were 138 isolated incidents, with 45 of them being in Vancouver and 17 in Surrey. Ten more were in Victoria, and the rest were scattered across the rest of BC.
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