City’s OD deaths kept rising into early 2020
The start of 2020 brought the highest death toll from drug overdoses the city has seen in recent years, according to Health Department stats released Wednesday.
From January through March, 440 New Yorkers died of accidental drug poisoning in an ongoing crisis the department described as an “epidemic.”
The figure marked a steady increase since the middle of 2019 and the highest level for any single quarter since at least 2015.
“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped New York City, overdose deaths were at record levels, consistent with national trends,” Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi said in a statement. “This has been a tragedy leading into a crisis. Every fatal overdose is preventable and we will continue our work to keep our fellow New Yorkers alive.”
The Bronx saw the most overdose deaths, 118, followed by Brooklyn, which had 81, Manhattan, 76; Queens, 73 and Staten Island, 32, the department said.
“These data tell a consistent story,” said Health Department research director Dr. Denise Paone. “Year after year, residents of the South Bronx and East Harlem have among the highest rates of drug overdose death in New York City.”
“We eagerly await overdose mortality data from the second quarter of 2020 to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on overdose deaths,” she added.
The opioid fentanyl, which is much stronger than morphine, was detected in a majority of overdose deaths last year, the Health Department found.
According to the data, there were 399 overdose deaths during the last three months of 2019, 379 in the summer and 341 in the spring.
The alarming uptick matched nationwide trends, health officials noted.
More than 81,000 people in the U.S. died of drug overdoses during the 12 months ending in May, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The city is spending an extra $2 million on expanding access to treatment, distributing the lifesaving anti-overdose drug naloxone and other steps, the Health Department said.