A new report says Ontario's opioid crisis has worsened dramatically during the pandemic.
Researchers with the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network say opioid-related deaths are up nearly 80 per cent from February to December in 2020.
Researcher Tara Gomes says the homeless population and those who were unemployed have been hit particularly hard by fatal opioid overdoses.
She says it is alarming because opioid-related deaths continue to increase unabated.
Last year, 2,426 people died from opioids - a 60 per cent increase from 2019 when there were 1,517 opioid-related deaths.
When zeroing in on the pandemic from March to December, deaths increased by more than 75 per cent compared to the year before.