Paramedics from British Columbia Emergency Health Services responded to 130 suspected overdose calls on Friday, tying the highest number of such calls the agency has ever recorded in a single day.
The last time this many overdose calls were reported in a single day was in April 2017.
None of the calls that came in on Friday were fatal, BCEHS said.
Yesterday, July 27, 2018 BCEHS paramedics responded to 130 suspected overdose calls – the highest in 1 day, a number seen only once before in BC in April 2017. Thankfully all lives saved. Tell your families, tell your friends: Don’t Use Alone, and Call 911 if you suspect an OD.
— Emerg Health Services (@BC_EHS) July 28, 2018
Last year, more than 1,400 people died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. Between January and May of this year, 620 British Columbians died of overdoses.
The province declared a public health emergency in April 2016 because of a rapid rise in opioid-related overdose deaths.
