An alert has been issued by the the Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy group.
WECOSS said the alert is because of a high number of overdoses in the Windsor area between July 17 and July 21. The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit’s surveillance system has identified 20 drug-related Emergency Department visits between last Wednesday and this past Sunday. The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy group is still trying to determine what drugs were used in the overdoses.
"The substances involved are unconfirmed," WECOSS said in a statement released Wednesday. "We are working with the hospital to determine the particular substances involved and will provide further updates as needed."
WECOSS said the alert was generated for Saturday but the health unit didn't post or tweet the alert until Wednesday. An alert is triggered when the count of emergency department visits exceeds the running average by two standard deviations or more over a specified period.
Similar alerts were issued June 5 and May 29.
The health unit identified 15 drug-related emergency department visits from May 26-28 and 25 drug-related emergency department visits between June 1 and June 4.
The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy group is made up of 28 community agencies that have come together to address key substance use issues across Windsor-Essex.
For signs and symptoms of opioid overdose and what to do click here.
