Alberta sets record 904 opioid deaths to date in 2020, cites COVID-19 as factor
Posted Dec 18, 2020 4:18 pm.
EDMONTON – Alberta is reporting 904 opioid-related deaths in the first 10 months of 2020, a sobering record surpassing the province’s current death count of COVID-19.
Premier Jason Kenney says the novel coronavirus has had an impact on those opioid numbers, reducing access to in-person treatment programs along with reports some people used federal COVID-19 income supports to purchase drugs.
Opioid deaths peaked at 806 in 2018 but had been begun falling prior to 2020.
The opioid-death statistics this year are calculated up to the end of October.
The province says there have been 790 deaths so far this year linked to COVID-19.
The Opposition NDP says Kenney’s United Conservative government has contributed to the rise in deaths, including closing a safe consumption site in Lethbridge earlier this year.
(The Canadian Press)
