Item - 2020.HL20.7

The Board of Health:

1.  Requested the Medical Officer of Health to provide an update on the status of the opioid poisoning crisis in Toronto to the Board of Health at its meeting on October 19, 2020, focusing on Toronto Public Health's current response and further actions needed by all levels of government to support the response to this public health crisis.

People who use drugs continue to face a high risk of overdose and death due to the increasingly toxic, unregulated drug supply in our city. This opioid poisoning crisis is further exacerbated by the reduction of harm reduction service capacity due to COVID-19. Suspected opioid overdose calls to the Toronto Paramedics Service have been higher in February, March and April 2020. Paramedics also responded to a high number of suspected opioid overdose-related deaths in April and May; 25 in each month. In July, paramedics responded to 27 suspected opioid overdose-related deaths; the largest monthly number seen since the City began monitoring this information in September 2017, and higher than the number of COVID-19 deaths during this month.