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Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson said today the deaths were an “insidious impact of the pandemic,” wiping out progress made in 2019. But advocates and experts say the province’s small, slow steps to address the crisis, even after the potential impacts of the pandemic on overdose deaths became clear, are a slap in the face to the families and friends of the 6,733 people who have died since 2016. “We have had years to get ahead of this,” said peer advisor Guy Felicella of the BC Centre on Substance Use. “COVID showed how fragile what we had in place already really was.” ....
The Canadian Association for Safe Supply said the provincial government failed to act and prepare for more overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was declared by the World Health . . . ....
December 21, 2020 - 6:00 PM Illicit drug overdose deaths across B.C. continued an upward trajectory last month putting 2020 on track for being the deadliest year in recent history. The BC Coroners Service reported 153 suspected drug toxicity deaths in November, which an 89% increase over November 2019. Those new figures raise the total number of overdose deaths to 1,548 from the start of 2020 until the end of November. So far, only 2018 was worse and it had 1,549 deaths once the year wrapped up. Locally, 55 people died of an overdose in Kamloops, 53 in Kelowna 53 and 23 in Vernon. By October, the death toll was 50 in Kamloops, 45 in Kelowna and 21 in Vernon. The coroners service doesn t provide numbers in Penticton due population size. ....