Fentanyl Related State of Emergency still Ongoing in Broome Coun – FOX 40 WICZ TV

Broome County leaders held an update at the George Harvey Justice Building on Wednesday about the ongoing State of emergency in Broome County. 

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar stating that the fentanyl outbreak has claimed two more lives.

Garnar issued the state of emergency on March 27th after six people died from suspected fentanyl related overdoses in a ten day span, today officials say it’s up to 12 deaths in the month of March and 1 since the start of April.

County officials say hundred’s of Narcan kits have been distributed throughout Broome County.

Broome County District Attorney Steve Cornwell spoke out some of the steps he and his office has already taken:

• Investigate all overdose scenes as potential crime scenes and assist local law enforcement agencies.
• Improve reporting of drug overdoses to target where the drug is coming from as well as sharing data with local and national agencies.
• Investigative and Prosecution strategies of fentanyl sales as highest priority.

Cornwell said, “it’s important for the public to know the dangers of fentanyl”.

As a response Cornwell is having local law enforcement test all drugs and narcatics found at scenes to create a “fingerprint” of what drugs in the Southern Tier do and don’t contain fentanyl.

Cornwell said, that toxicology tests use to take upwards of 18 months to come back but soon they will have the results in just a matter of a few days.