Number of overdose deaths skyrockets in NY | The USA Print

One person dies every three hours from overdose in NYwhere deaths from drug abuse, especially opioids, have skyrocketed in the last three years, according to the latest data from the New York Department of Health.

Only in the months of May, June and July of last year, the last ones for which official information has been published, 696 people lost their lives, the highest number since the third quarter of 2021, in which 722 people died victims of the drugs.

According to the city’s Health Department, in 80% of overdose that end in death, the victims had consumed some type of opioid and in 76% fentanyl.

Likewise, the authorities stress that deaths from overdose in NY they exceed deaths from homicide, suicide and traffic accidents combined.

According to these data, since at least 2019, the increase in mortality from overdose has not stopped growing.

In 2020, they died from overdose in NY 2,103 people, 40% more than those who died in 2019, when 1,497 New Yorkers lost their lives. And in 2021, 2,668 people died, that is, 26% more than the previous year.

Regarding the first six months of 2022, the latest for which there is data, the number of deaths from overdose It was 1,340, very close to those registered in all of 2019 and 7.9% more than between January and June 2021.

By districts, The Bronx is the area where the most deaths were recorded in the first six months of last year, a total of 323; followed by Brooklyn, with 255 deaths; Queens, where 211 people lost their lives; Manhattan, where 174 perished, and Staten Island, where the overdose they snuffed out 69 lives.

Given the avalanche of deaths recorded in recent years, the authorities have offered free first aid courses to the city’s nightlife venues, where they have also distributed the drug Narcan, which contains naloxone, which can reverse the effects of fentanyl and other opioids.

In its statement, the city recalls that the Health Department offers free courses to teach to recognize the signs of a overdose and for the correct administration of naloxone.