While opioid-related deaths continue at above pre-pandemic levels, the local health unit has one of the lowest rates in Ontario.
There were 23 such fatalities – confirmed and probable cases – within Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph during the first half of 2022, a quarterly report from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario shows. That’s equal to the number of deaths during the first half of 2021.
There were 39 opioid-related deaths in WDG during 2021, with 25 in 2020 and 35 in 2019, according to Public Health Ontario.
Province-wide, there were 1,278 opioid-related deaths during the first six months of this year, down from 1,487 during the first half of 2021, the coroner’s report states.
When broken down by health unit, WDG comes in near the bottom of the list – 27th of the 34.
Locally, there were 2.2 opioid-related deaths per 100,000 residents from January through June of this year, which is below the provincial average of 8.5 or a 13 per cent reduction.
That’s still 55 per cent higher than the mortality rate in 2019, ahead of the pandemic.
The health unit area with the highest death rate during the first half of 2022 is Thunder Bay, at 42.2, followed by Greater Sudbury (29) and Timmins (28.6).
By far, the most impacted age group is those 30-59, which account for 71 per cent of the provincial deaths in Q1 and Q2 of this year.
Found in 85 per cent of cases, fentanyl plays the largest role in opioid toxicity deaths.
