The overdose death toll has surpassed 200 for another month in British Columbia.
The B.C. Coroners Service says 211 people died in January, bringing the number of deaths to at least 11,195 since the public-health emergency was declared in 2016.
A statement from the coroner’s office says the death rate in January was 47 people per 100,000, more than double the 20.5 death rate that prompted B.C.’s medical health officer to declare the emergency almost seven years ago.
Vancouver Island had 39 confirmed deaths in January, including 11 in Greater Victoria in January and 12 in Nanaimo, according to data from the Coroners Service.
Nanaimo has the third-highest number of overdose deaths in B.C. so far this year, behind Vancouver and Surrey, with 61 and 24, respectively.
Chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says in the statement that toxic drugs are an ever-present danger to anyone who uses illicit drugs.
She says recent announcements by the province about increasing treatment and recovery options are encouraging and necessary to address the tragic loss of life.
The service says the latest toll means that an average of 6.8 lives are lost every day, and 80 per cent of those who died were male.
— With a file from the Times Colonist
