While some counties in western Pennsylvania report an increase of drug overdose deaths during the first four months of 2020, and some authorities blame it on people being locked down by the pandemic, Indiana County reports only five deaths so far.
There were 38 total deaths from overdose in the county in all of 2019, so the rate is much lower so far this year. If the pace were to continue for the rest of the year, Indiana County would total 15 overdose deaths. But the majority of overdose deaths may not necessarily be in the first four months of the year, so the number could increase as people get outdoors and can move about more.
All five of the deaths reported by Coroner Jerry Overman Jr. to the OverdoseFreePA website administered by the University of Pittsburgh were termed accidental. Four of them involved fentanyl and three of them involved heroin.
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