Toronto Public Health says the city has set a sobering new single-day high for overdose calls.
It says Toronto Paramedic Services attended about 40 suspected overdoses between Friday and early Saturday morning, including three deaths.
It says in a news release that’s the highest number of reported overdose calls in a 24-hour period since monitoring began in 2017.
It follows news from the public health unit that December 2020 set a record for fatal opioid overdoses attended by paramedics in a single month – a total of 34 – since monitoring began.
Public health says the city’s drug checking service has found unexpected and potent drugs in the unregulated supply over the last few months.
Health board chair Joe Cressy says Friday’s numbers set a devastating record for the city and he’s calling on all levels of government to invest in solutions.
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