Photo courtesy of northernhealth.ca
Dr. Rakel Kling is a medical health officer for Northern Health. Northern Health reported higher cases of opioid overdoses this year so far as well as lower numbers of emergency room walk-ins.
COVID-19 has made "non essential" hospital visits mandatory, and so people who use drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone or morphine (among others). People who use these drugs also are more likely to do it alone, which leaves them more susceptible to not being able to call for help or have a safe-use system with the person they are doing it with.
The number of cases so far this year is 1803 in Northern Health alone, with Price George reporting the highest numbers.
You can read Northern Health's data report here: https://www.northernhealth.ca/sites/northern_health/files/health-information/health-topics/overdose-prevention/documents/public-ed-surveillance-opioid-reporting-aug-2020.pdf
Tune in to hear from Kling about what Northern Health is doing to prepare the public if you encounter someone who has overdosed and what is offered to individuals who need to use drugs safely including what to look out for.