Keystone State Sees Increase In Overdoses And Relapses During Pandemic

While Pennsylvania Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Programs Jennifer Smith did not cite specific overdose figures during comments to a House Human Services Committee meeting, she said calls to a state help line have increased to 380 a week.

In some of the last five years — before the pandemic hit — Pennsylvania’s overdose death totals were among the highest in the nation.

Gov. Tom Wolf has repeatedly re-declared the opioid crisis a statewide emergency, but the existence of that emergency has been overshadowed since March by the coronavirus pandemic.