FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ohio — Overdose deaths in Franklin County have increased 45.6% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to coroner Anahi Ortiz.
New data from the Franklin County Coroner’s Office show there were 855 reported overdose deaths last year. It also shows the county has seen an 83.9% increase from 2017 to 2020.
Ortiz says the county is “experiencing an epidemic within the pandemic.”
Additional data from the coroner’s office show that the crude death rate, which is the rate of death per 100,000 of population, was at 64.5 in 2020.
Ortiz said there were 744 fentanyl-related overdose deaths reported in Franklin County, which also accounted for 87% of last year’s overdose death total.
Researchers at the Franklin County Forensic Science Center have seen a decrease in the combined use of cocaine and fentanyl.
According to data from the National Center for Health Statistics Provisional Overdose Death Counts, the U.S. saw a 28.9% increase from November 2019 to November 2020.
