There were 113 suspected overdose deaths in B.C. in March, which is the highest total in 12 months.

The BC Coroners Service released data today to the end of this past March, which showed that monthly overdose deaths surpassed 100 for the first time since March 2019.

March’s death toll of 113 was substantially higher than 77 in January and 70 in February.

In Kamloops, there were 11 overdose deaths reported between January and March. That’s compared to 27 for all of 2019 and 46 in 2018.

In the first three months of this year, the Coroners Service says 76 per cent of suspected overdose deaths were men, and 73 per cent of cases were between the ages of 19 and 49. It says the highest death rate per capita is in the Northern Health Authority (29.3 deaths per 100,000 people), followed by Interior Health (23.0).

Between January 2018 and March 2020, the areas with highest overdose death rates per capita are Hope, Lillooet, the North Thompson, Arrow Lakes and Fort Nelson, the Coroners Service says.

It says to date, there have still be no deaths recorded at any supervised consumption site, in Kamloops or elsewhere in B.C.