An average of one person a day died from drug overdoses in Vancouver last week.
Those are just some the latest figures from Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services (VFRS).
The week also saw the three busiest days on record for the VFRS, with 41 overdose calls in a single day, and 198 overdose calls for the week.
The 198 calls are a 77% increase from the 112 recorded calls the previous week.
In a release, VFRS said overdose deaths and calls have been increasing weekly throughout June, “reiterating the need for new strategies and more action to be taken by the new Provincial government.”
The City and its community members, the release continued, “cannot continue to carry the daily weight of the crisis on their own.”
Vancouver’s overdose death rate “continues to soar with no end in sight, and the provincial government remains missing in action,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson.
“Four British Columbians a day are dying of drug overdose from fentanyl, and our first responders and front line community workers are at a breaking point shouldering the burden of saving lives on the front lines.”
The mayor added the city is desperate for “targeted and measurable senior government support for treatment on demand, substitution therapy and other health solutions that will save lives and curb the horrific death toll from fentanyl.”
Follow Channels and Categories