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Two more overdose deaths as Interior Health repeats drug use warning

Two more overdose deaths as Interior Health repeats drug use warning | iNFOnews.ca
Photographer: John McDonald

Two more overdose deaths have been added to seven reported on Friday by the Interior Health Authority which issued a warning to drug users about the unusually high number of deaths over a short period.

The warning was reinforced in a press release issued this morning, Jan. 29.

“We would like to advise of a further update from the B.C. Coroners Service this morning confirming an additional two deaths in Interior Health region that are also suspected drug overdoses,” the release said.

The Interior Health Authority did not immediately respond to questions about where within the health authority the overdose deaths were concentrated.

The press release says none of the deaths has had a cause confirmed but warns anyway of the dangers of using street drugs alone.

According to Canadian Press, latest figures from the coroners service show there were 1,208 illicit drug overdose deaths across the province between January and October last year.

The data shows the powerful opioid fentanyl was detected in about 83 per cent of those deaths.

To contact a reporter for this story, email John McDonald or call 250-808-0143 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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John McDonald

John began life as a journalist through the Other Press, the independent student newspaper for Douglas College in New Westminster. The fluid nature of student journalism meant he was soon running the place, learning on the fly how to publish a newspaper.

It wasn’t until he moved to Kelowna he broke into the mainstream media, working for Okanagan Sunday, then the Kelowna Daily Courier and Okanagan Saturday doing news graphics and page layout. He carried on with the Kelowna Capital News, covering health and education while also working on special projects, including the design and launch of a mass market daily newspaper. After 12 years there, John rejoined the Kelowna Daily Courier as editor of the Westside Weekly, directing news coverage as the Westside became West Kelowna.

But digital media beckoned and John joined Kelowna.com as assistant editor and reporter, riding the start-up as it at first soared then went down in flames. Now John is turning dirt as city hall reporter for iNFOnews.ca where he brings his long experience to bear on the civic issues of the day.

If you have a story you think people should know about, email John at jmcdonald@infonews.ca

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