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B.C. Keeps Breaking Overdose Records In 2020 After Another Spike In July

Vancouver B.C Overdoses

Photo: Brian Kushniruk / Flickr

The rate of overdose calls in B.C. keeps going up, but July saw its highest number yet.

BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) announced the latest number of overdose calls, which reached more than 2,700, last month. The highest number of calls were from those between 21-40 years old.

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“Overdoses are in every community, whether Parksville, Pemberton or Port Coquitlam,” said BCEHS in a tweet. “We are saddened by these numbers.”

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The number of fatal overdoses has been climbing since February, which had 76 deaths. March had 113, April had 118 and May had 170 recorded deaths. June had 175 deaths.

The B.C. government is adding $10.5 million in funding to fight the rising illicit drug supply.

This funding will help scale up overdose prevention services and expand access to prescription alternatives, to help separate people from toxic street drugs. Among other measures, it will also add new outreach teams to help prevent overdose deaths.

For more news in Vancouver, head to our News section.

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