November was one of the worst months of 2020 for opioid-related deaths in Red Deer.
There were seven opioid-related deaths in the month, only June of last year reached a similar mark.
Red Deer had 44 deaths overall in 2020 in relation to opioids, up from 22 in 2019. There were 53 opioid-related deaths in the city in 2018, 30 in 2017 and 35 in 2016.
Calgary and Edmonton each had 37 deaths due to opioids in November, Grande Prairie had six, Fort McMurray and Medicine Hat each had one and Lethbridge recorded none.
Across the province, there were 997 opioid-related deaths in the first 11 months of 2020, one and a half times the number from 2019. There were 106 opioid-related deaths in Alberta in November alone.
The numbers were reported on the Alberta government’s new interactive substance use online dashboard, which was launched in December.
According to the statistics, 77.5 per cent of opioid-related deaths last year were male and 22.5 per cent were female. There were 118 deaths of males between the ages of 35-39, 112 males aged 30-34 and 98 were between 25 and 29.
Of the 22 per cent of females, 35 were 25-29, 33 were 35-39 and 30 were 30-34.