Statistics revealed on Wednesday, quoting health experts, a record number of Americans died of opioid overdoses last year as epidemic lockdowns made accessing treatment difficult and traffickers mixed more narcotics with a strong synthetic opioid.
Drug overdose fatalities in the United States increased by over 30% to more than 93,000 in 2020, the highest number ever reported, Reuters writes.
While overdose deaths had been rising in the months leading up to the COVID-19 epidemic, the most recent statistics reveal a dramatic increase during the pandemic.
Because of social isolation, many addicts were unable to access services such as needle exchange, opioid substitution treatment, or safe injection locations where observers could administer the overdose antidote Narcan, leaving them to die alone.
Furthermore, addicts had been unable to attend group therapy sessions in person or visit their counselors for live one-on-one therapy while on stay-at-home orders.
In less visible ways, pandemic lockdowns and distance are believed to have contributed to the surge in overdose mortality.
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