Toronto Public Health issues alert amid spike in suspected overdose deaths

Surge in overdose deaths in GTA prompts warning Toronto has reported at least 15 suspected opioid-related deaths since mid-October coinciding with an increase in fentanyl contamination.

Toronto Public Health is issuing a drug alert after a spike in suspected fatal overdoses.

The alert says paramedics have responded to at least 15 suspected fatal overdose calls over the past four weeks.

It says they received at least five calls within four-day spans on three separate occasions.

Toronto Public Health says a number of drugs were involved and that overdoses are happening in neighbourhoods across the city.

Toronto's Drug Checking Service, a Health-Canada backed project that tests illicit drugs from across the city, found some fentanyl samples last week were three times more potent than usual, though it cautioned the numbers came from a small sample size.

(1/3) #DrugAlert: Over the past 4 weeks, there has been an ⬆ in the number of fatal suspected opioid calls, including 3 different occurrences where there were at least 5 fatal calls within a 4-day period. More info: https://t.co/NZ3j9ShYsR

— Toronto Public Health (@TOPublicHealth) November 16, 2022

The public health unit says people should not use drugs alone, visit a supervised-consumption site if possible and carry Naloxone.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 17, 2022.