The number of accidental drug and alcohol deaths almost doubled in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic, a report released Thursday said.
Almost 3,000 people died from drug or alcohol toxicity in 2021, compared to nearly 1,600 people in 2018, according to the study by The Ontario Drug Policy Research Network and Public Health Ontario.
That's an average of eight deaths every day in 2021, said senior author Tara Gomes, who is a principal investigator with the drug policy research network and an epidemiologist at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto.