Northern Ontario continues to be hardest hit by the opioid crisis, with Thunder Bay and Sudbury rounding out the two communities with the highest death rates
TORONTO — Opioids killed more people in Ontario in the second year of the pandemic compared to the first, but the province saw a drop in those deaths this past March, newly released data shows.
"It's ongoing and it's bad and it got heck of a lot worse during the pandemic," said Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario's chief coroner, in an interview. The number of overall deaths dropped by 31 per cent in March 2022 compared to March 2021. Ontario lifted most COVID-19 restrictions that month, although Huyer said at this point that is simply a correlation, not necessarily the cause for the drop.
"That community is now opening back up so there's some support from a safety perspective, but also support for mental well-being and, in general, things being better overall," Huyer said.Northern Ontario remains hardest hit in Ontario and the problem is getting worse, with the area having more than double the mortality rate of the entire province.Thunder Bay District Health Unit had an opioid death rate of 82.
Fentanyl remains the most common substance found in those who died from opioids, the data shows. It was involved in 88 per cent of deaths in 2021, up from 86 per cent the year before – which itself was a big jump from 53 per cent in all opioid deaths in 2019. "But it's important to remember that eight deaths a day compared to four deaths a day before the pandemic is just such a big change."