For a second straight month in April, there were seven suspected overdose deaths reported in Kamloops.

New data released this morning by the BC Coroner’s Service shows 19 people died of an overdose in the first four months of this year in the city.

Across B.C., there were 176 suspected fatal overdoses in April., meaning almost six people per day died of an overdose, on average.

The Thompson-Cariboo had 44 suspected overdose deaths in April, which was the third-highest death rate per capita among health service delivery areas in B.C. Only Vancouver (66.8) and the Northeast (63.9) had higher death rates in the month.

In the first four months of this year, there were 680 overdose deaths, which is the most in B.C. in the first four months of any year.

The communities that have seen the highest number of overdoses are Vancouver (156), Surrey (85), Victoria (53), Burnaby (27), Abbotsford (26) and Chilliwack (20). Following those communities are Kamloops and Kelowna, which have lost 19 and 18 of their residents, respectively, to overdoses this year.

“Once again, we’re reminded that the scale of this public health emergency is truly unprecedented,” chief coroner Lisa Lapointe says.

“I offer my heartfelt condolences to every family in the province that is experiencing the unimaginable pain of sudden and unexpected loss. Every life lost to toxic drugs in our province is a profound tragedy. Every one of them mattered, and every one of them will be missed.”

The Coroners Service says fentanyl has been traced in 86 per cent of fatal overdoses this year, which it says points out how highly-toxic the drug supply is. Carfentanil has also been found in 62 overdose deaths in the first four months of 2021, compared to being found in 65 deaths for all of 2020.