Northern BC saw decrease in fentanyl-related drug deaths in 2019

VICTORIA, B.C. – The B.C. Coroners Service has released a report looking at illicit drug overdose deaths during 2019.

According to the report, in 2019, Northern B.C. experienced a decline in fentanyl-related drug deaths, a number of 55 compared to 87 deaths in 2018.

When it came to fentanyl-related drug deaths across the province, the Coroners Service reports that the number of deaths was down to 827 when compared to 1,335 deaths in 2018.

In the report, the Coroners Service found provincially more than four in every five deaths in 2019 had fentanyl detected in post-mortem testing.

It is also reported that the Northern Health Authority had the second-highest rate of illicit drug toxicity deaths of 22.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals when compared to the  Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which saw 23 deaths per 100,000 individuals.