High Number of Opioid Overdoses – October 5th, 2021

Windsor (primarily in N9A postal code area) & Leamington

Date/Time/Approximate Location

October 5th, 2021

Windsor (primarily in N9A postal code area) & Leamington  

 

Event Description

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s surveillance and monitoring system has identified an increase in opioid-related Emergency Department (ED) visits and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) calls inclusively between September 27th and October 3rd of 2021.

Over this consecutive seven-day period, it has been identified that there were ten (10) fentanyl overdoses, nine (9) of which were reported by Windsor Regional Hospital and one (1) of which was reported by Erie Shores Healthcare. Historically, the number of overdoses reported during this period are significantly high when compared to our two-year and five-year averages. Based on the information available, a public alert is strongly warranted.

Partners involved in the WECOSS, including the WECHU, Windsor Regional Hospital, Essex Windsor-EMS, Erie Shores Healthcare, and Police Services, continue to monitor this increase and are working to understand more about these reported cases.

Response

Please share this information with clients and relevant partners. If you are aware of any linkages between these cases or other causes for these increases, please contact the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit.

For signs and symptoms of opioid overdose and what to do, visit the WECOSS website: How Can Overdose Be Prevented?

Source

WECHU (Acute Care Enhanced Surveillance Application - ACES), Essex-Windsor EMS Overdose Notification System, Windsor Police Services