British Columbia announced three new deaths due to COVID-19 Tuesday, as it also marked four years since declaring its other public health emergency, the opioid overdose crisis.
More than 4,900 British Columbians have died of illicit drug overdoses since provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that emergency on Apr. 14, 2016.
At her daily COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday, Henry said her office had not forgotten those victims and the people still struggling with addiction.
“I want you to know that you are not alone, that we are not slowing down our response or taking our focus off the importance of being able to support people who use drugs, their families and our communities,” she said.
“We’re not letting this (coronavirus) crisis overtake the importance of our response to our overdose crisis and the work we need to do.”
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Dr. Bonnie Henry on B.C.’s continuing overdose crisis during COVID-19 pandemic
But in an encouraging sign, hospitalizations remained essentially flat, with 134 patients in hospital — 58 of whom are in intensive care.
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