The number of fatal overdoses per month in Nanaimo is steadily increasing. (file photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

crisis

Fatal overdoses steadily increasing in Nanaimo throughout 2021

Jun 1, 2021 | 10:41 AM

NANAIMO — A concerning and fatal trend is developing in the Nanaimo area.

New data from the BC Coroners Service showed six people lost their lives due to the toxic drug crisis in April, 2021.

The number of fatalities has increased every month so far in 2021, from two fatalities in January to three in February and four in March.

Coroners Service info showed the Nanaimo area had returned to pre-pandemic levels of the drug crisis in January and February, but those trends didn’t hold in following months.

In the first four months of 2021, 15 people have died in Nanaimo. This is almost halfway to the final 2020 number of overdoses, which was the second most fatal year on record.

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An overdose advisory was issued for Nanaimo and three other Island communities in mid-April.

“What’s concerning is that for the first time I can remember, we issued those alerts in four different communities…spread across the Island Health region,” Dr. Charmaine Enns, medical health officer, said at the time.

The advisory was extended three times to the beginning of May before being withdrawn.

The six people in Nanaimo, and 10 across the central Vancouver Island area, were part of the 36 lives lost across Island Health in April.

April, 2021 is the third most fatal month in Island Health since the beginning of 2020.

The BC Coroners Service noted north Vancouver Island has one of the highest rates of fatality in the province in April.

Despite a significantly smaller population, 22 people fatally overdosed in the area in 2021 by the end of April.

Across B.C., there were 176 suspected illicit drug toxicity deaths, the largest ever for the month of April. It’s a 10 per cent increase from the month before.

“We know substance use disorder is a complex health issue, and those experiencing it need meaningful and compassionate services and supports,” chief coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a release. “It is critical that harm reduction services, including safe supply, are accessible where and when people need them, and that recovery services are evidence based and accountable.”

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