COLUMBUS — The Franklin County Coroner reports that overdose deaths jumped significantly from a year ago, and the increase came before most of the stay-at-home orders and business closings were seen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Anahi Ortiz reported Wednesday that overdoses driven by the synthetic painkiller fentanyl rose by 55% for the first three months of the year compared to the same time period last year.
The coroner says this year’s increase in overdose deaths preceded the COVID-19 pandemic with deaths in January increasing by more than 74% percent from 2019.
Ortiz says both methamphetamine-related and alcohol-related deaths were also up compared to last year.
The data shows that four out of five of the 191 overdose victims were white men with the largest percentage of deaths coming among people 30-39 and 50-59 years of age.
The deaths occurred most frequently in the Hilltop and Linden neighborhoods, in Mifflin Township and on the South and Southeast sides of the city.