More people died after a drug overdose in B.C. last month than people who died from COVID-19 all year, new data from province confirmed Thursday.
The BC Coroners Service said 170 people died of an illicit drug overdose in May, the highest total ever recorded for a single month in provincial history.
It’s also more people than have died from COVID-19 in B.C. all year.
“It’s frustrating to see the number of illicit drug deaths go up and to reach a new high … It’s sad to see this many people impacted, losing their lives,” said Andy Watson, a spokesperson for the coroners service.
The province said 167 people have died of COVID-19 since B.C.’s first case of the virus was confirmed six months ago. The annual total for overdoses in B.C. was 554 as of May 31.
‘Extreme’ fentanyl concentrations
More than 82 per cent of overdose deaths in May involved fentanyl.
Watson said post-mortem toxicology testing suggests there were a greater number of cases with “extreme” conce