Opioid deaths decline nearly 6 percent in first quarter; Lowell cited
BOSTON – A total of 467 people died of confirmed or estimated opioid overdose deaths in the first three months of 2020, according to new state data, representing a 5.7 percent decline from the same period in 2019.
Public Health Commissioner Dr. Monica Bharel presented the figures at a Wednesday morning Public Health Council meeting.
Bharel highlighted Gardner, Melrose, Lowell, Taunton and Worcester as communities that had experienced a notable decrease in opioid overdose deaths from 2018 to 2019.
Somerville, Beverly, Attleboro, Revere, Brockton, New Bedford and Pittsfield, meanwhile, experienced notable increases in overdose deaths.