A Medical Health Officer with Interior Health says this is a very important year to reflect on the number of lives lost to B.C.’s other public health emergency – the overdose crisis.

Dr. Karin Goodison says there aren’t many people who have not been impacted by the crisis either directly or indirectly.

“If you use drugs, it impacts you. If you’ve lost a friend or a family member or you know someone who does, it impacts you,” she said. “This is something that as you know is killing more people than traffic accidents and suicides and homicides combined.”

New data from the BC Coroners Service showed 147 overdose deaths in August of this year – four in Kamloops – for a provincial total of 1,068. It means there have now been six consecutive months with over 100 overdose deaths in British Columbia.

The total number of deaths was trending downwards through much of 2019 before a sharp increase that began in March when COVID-19 restrictions were put in place.

“This year is particularly difficult. We are losing in the last several months almost a person a day in the Interior to the illicit drug supply,” Goodison added. “This is a really important year to reflect on the lives that have been lost and what we can be doing to prevent this.”

“[It also is good to reflect on] how our biases may colour our judgement of others and impact their ability to seek help.”

Through the first eight months of 2020, there were 160 overdose deaths in the Interior – an increase of 21 from the 139 deaths in all of 2019.

Last week a new public health order from Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, allowed healthcare professionals like registered and psychiatric nurses to prescribe safer drugs for people who are at risk of overdosing.