As of Tuesday, the coronavirus had claimed 17,344 lives in Massachusetts.
The state Department of Public Health s total 2,104 confirmed and estimated opioid deaths in 2020 is up from the 2,002 recorded in 2019 and slightly above the previous record high of 2,102 in 2016.
The rate of opioid overdose deaths statewide was 30.2 per 100,000 people, slightly lower than the 30.6 recorded in 2016. The DPH s quarterly opioid report described that difference as not statistically significant.
In Falmouth, the number of fatal overdoses remained stable, bucking the national trend. In 2019 there were 11 fatal overdoses. In 2020 there were 10, according to figures provided by Falmouth police Lt. Douglas DeCosta. Likewise, the increase in 2020 from 2019 is not statistically significant, the report said, describing the uptick from 28.7 per 100,000 in 2019. Taken together, this indicates that the opioid-related overdose death rate has been stable for the past several years.
Digital & Print Subscriptions - New & Renew
Before you subscribe, you need to sign up and register for a username and password. Click Get Started to register or log in.
To subscribe for the very first time. Get started, log in and choose your town, delivery method and the length of your subscription. You will be asked for your address, even if you only want a digital subscription (it is a system thing). And don t forget to enter a promo code, if you have one!
To renew your current subscription. Get started, log in and find My Account. If your subscription has already expired, please call us at 508-299-8379 or email us at circulation@capenews.net for help with your renewal.
FALMOUTH The Select Board on Monday authorized a letter to be sent to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation asking for assistance on speeding and the weight of trucks traveling along Woods Hole Road.
“The volumes of traffic on Woods Hole Road continue to expand,” Town Manager Julian Suso wrote in the letter on behalf of the Select Board. “The number of trucks carrying significant loads and expanding vehicle speeds are extremely concerning, all contributing to challenging public safety issues.”
Select Board member Doug Jones, who is also a member of the Woods Hole/Falmouth Noise & Traffic Mitigation Working Group, raised concerns at the board s March 22 meeting about some issues on the roadway, which leads into the village.
The COVID-19 pandemic has dominated the news since last spring, pushing aside America s other epidemic the opioid epidemic which has only gotten worse in the intervening months.
People who work on the front lines of the opioid epidemic on Cape Cod say isolation caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing protocols that limit access to 12-step and other meetings are part of what s driving the increase.
Susan Kinnane of Eastham lost their son Danny Vigliano to an overdose in August. The 35-year-old, whose struggle she said was made worse by the isolation, died alone on the floor of a Brockton MBTA station. Toxicology reports showed ethanol and fentanyl in his system.