No opioid deaths so far in 2019: coroner

There have been no deaths relating to opioids in the territory so far this year, meaning that figure has sat at 19 since 2016.

The Yukon’s chief coroner confirmed the numbers to the Star Monday morning, providing a breakdown of the number of opioid-related deaths and how many of those specifically involved fentanyl.

Heather Jones noted the first fentanyl-related death in the territory was in April 2016. That year saw seven opioid-related deaths, five of which involved fentanyl.

A similar pattern occurred in 2017, with seven opioid deaths made up of five involving fentanyl.

In 2018, there were fewer at five, four of which involved fentanyl.

Now, almost halfway into this year, there have been no confirmed cases for 2019.

“Keep in mind that these stats do not include cases where death occurred outside of the Yukon,” Jones wrote this week.

She pointed to one known case where a person was medevaced to B.C. that involved a death.

There are also cases of Yukoners passing away outside of the territory as a result of overdoses; “however, the ‘event’ also occurred outside of the Yukon,” Jones said.

These cases cannot be tracked and they “do not reflect the opioid/fentanyl issue within the territory,” she added.

The numbers mean that out of 19 deaths relating to opioids so far, the Yukon has seen 14 of those traced to fentanyl.