The COVID-19 quarantines earlier this year hit those struggling with addiction in Marion County hard, according to a recently released study of overdose deaths in Florida.
Between March and June, 64 people died of drug overdoses in Marion, an increase of more than 100% over the same period in 2019, when 31 people died, according to the study released by the Orlando-based Project Opioid.
It was a similar case across Florida, where many counties saw sharp increases in overdose deaths during the quarantine period. Project Opioid used numbers from the Florida Department of Health for the study. We surveyed 1,700 Floridians, and it basically showed that during the mandated quarantines, 70% of those who were having mental health and substance abuse issues felt like they couldn t or shouldn t get help, said Andrae Bailey, founder of Project Opioid.