Recent overdose deaths in Simcoe-Muskoka part of an ‘ongoing trend,’ experts say – CBC
5 people died in region in first week of 2023 due to suspected overdoses, statistics show
Jan 17, 2023
Ontario Provincial Police sounded the alarm last week after four people in the Simcoe-Muskoka area died from suspected opioid overdoses in a span of four days.
The warning advised the public that a “highly potent and potentially fatal strain” of illicit opioid may be circulating in Simcoe County and the District Municipality of Muskoka. But experts in the region say the area has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, and four overdose deaths in a week isn’t uncommon.
Data from the Simcoe-Muskoka health unit at the end of 2022 shows an average of 13 people in the region wind up in emergency rooms each week due to suspected overdoses.
Dr. Lisa Simon, associate medical officer of health for the Simcoe-Muskoka District Health Unit, says like other parts of the country, there has been an escalation in drug-related deaths over the last few years.
“Unfortunately, this is part of an ongoing trend we have seen for several years now of a dramatic loss of life and like these individuals, it’s often young adults,” she said.
