Surrey saw 13 fatal overdoses in September.
The BC Coroners Service released the lastest data, Jan. 1 to Sept. 30, on Tuesday (Oct. 20).
The 13 fatalities bring Surrey’s total this year to 142 deaths.
Between January and August this year, Surrey surpassed the total number of deaths in 2019, which was 119. That was down for the 214 deaths in 2018.
READ ALSO: Surrey’s overdose death toll this year already exceeds 2019 total, Sept. 24, 2020
READ ALSO: First 8 months of fatal overdoses in B.C. have now exceeded 2019 death toll, Sept. 23, 2020
Surrey’s total fatal overdoses are only surpassed by Vancouver, which has seen 291 in the last nine months.
Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria are the three municipalities in the province experiencing the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths in 2020.
In 2019, 981 people died – a majority, or due to illicit fentanyl, a powerful street-level opioid.
Provincewide, there have been 1,202 overdose deaths this year.
September saw 127 people die of suspected illicit drugs. That’s a 15 per cent decrease from the 150 deaths in August 2020.
READ ALSO: B.C. records 127 fatal overdoses in September, roughly 4 each day, Oct. 20, 2020
There were roughly four drug overdose deaths in B.C. per day in September.
The BC Coroners Service says both male and female overdose fatalities have decreased in recent months from the highs in May, June and July, which saw a combined 538 deaths.
In Surrey, there were 64 deaths during those months.
Overdose fatalities by municipality, according to data released by the BC Coroners Service on Oct. 20, 2020. This is for Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2020. (Data: BC Coroners Service)
lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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