Fatal drug overdoses increased by 13% in 2020, with biggest increase during height of pandemic
The state saw a 13% increase in fatal drug overdoses in 2020, with most deaths occurring from April to July, when the state was going through the first round of the pandemic.
There were 1,359 fatal overdoses in 2020, with 78 cases still under investigation, according to state Department of Public Health data. In 2019, there were 1,200 deaths.
The largest monthly increase in fatal overdoses was April, when the state was in the throes of the COVID pandemic. Gov. Ned Lamont had ordered a lockdown of the state, closing all restaurants and requesting that people stay in their homes.
Authorities investigating possibility of bad batch of drugs after 2 found dead in New Haven
Feb. 16, 2021
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Jack’s Bar and Steakhouse on College Street in New Haven Feb. 16, 2021.Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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Jack’s Bar and Steakhouse on College Street in New Haven Feb. 16, 2021.Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
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NEW HAVEN Authorities are investigating the possibility of “a bad batch of drugs” after two men were found dead in a supply room behind Jack’s Bar & Steakhouse at College and Crown streets in what police suspect were overdoses.
Assistant Police Chief Karl Jacobson said that while the cause of the two men’s deaths have yet to be determined by the state medical examiner’s office, it appears both died of overdoses, not of any sort of foul play.