The local notification system on opioid overdoses has issued an alert covering activity for the first full week of September.
The Windsor-Essex Community Opioid and Substance Strategy (WECOSS) has noted an increase in opioid-related emergency department visits in the region between September 5 and September 11, issuing an alert.
There were 12 opioid-related overdoses reported by Windsor Regional Hospital that week. Nine of them involved fentanyl.
Also, WECOSS reported three non-overdoses of opioids, two of which involved fentanyl.
"These values exceed both our two and five-year historical averages for the current week in question by more than three standard deviations. As such, based on the information available, a public alert is warranted." read the WECOSS alert.
This alert is the seventh issued during the calendar year 2022.
WECOSS is a group of agencies that include the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, Windsor-Essex municipalities including the City of Windsor, school boards, Windsor police, Ontario Provincial Police, LaSalle police, Essex-Windsor EMS, Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, and others.
Complete information on how to recognize an opioid overdose and what to do can be found on the WECOSS official website.