After the U.S. drug death toll spiked to a record in 2019, the rate of fatalities surged further early in the pandemic, according to preliminary figures released by the federal government on Thursday.
More than 81,000 people died of drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in May, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, an out-of-control clip that puts the country on track for a harrowing final tally in 2020.
“The disruption to daily life due to the COVID-19 pandemic has hit those with substance use disorder hard,” Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the CDC, said in a statement.
The CDC said synthetic opioids seemed to be the largest driver in the rise of the overdose death rate.
In 2019, drug overdoses killed an estimated 72,000 people in the U.S.
The latest round of data helps further illuminate the tornado of health calamities radiating from the coronavirus crisis.
