[ti:One U.S. City Has More Drug Deaths Than COVID Deaths]
[al:Health & Lifestyle]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2020-12-30]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]So far this year in San Francisco, 621 people have died of drug overdoses. 
[00:08.48]This is a record.
[00:11.79]It is also far greater than the number of COVID-19 deaths in the California city.
[00:19.67]As of December 27, that number is 182.
[00:26.32]The main cause of the crisis is the powerful painkiller fentanyl.
[00:34.09]But the number of overdoses would be far higher without the use of an overdose-reversing medication called Narcan. 
[00:44.77]The drug can be sprayed up the nose to quickly bring someone out of an overdose.
[00:51.86]The medication was used nearly 3,000 times from January to mid-November to save overdose victims, the San Francisco Chronicle and Associated Press reported.
[01:07.21]Last year, San Francisco reported 441 overdose deaths, a 70 percent increase from 2018. 
[01:18.69]And 2019 saw 2,610 possible overdoses prevented by Narcan.
[01:28.83]The data comes from the city's Medical Examiner and the Drug Overdose Prevention and Education Project -- called DOPE for short. 
[01:41.85]DOPE is a city-funded program that works with San Francisco to carry out its overdose prevention efforts.
[01:51.87]People who use Narcan are urged to report to DOPE on the number of times they use the drug on overdose victims.
[02:01.88]The group also records the number of times people return to the program to refill their supply of Narcan.
[02:12.54]Because the information is largely self-reported, the actual numbers are thought to be higher.
[02:21.93]San Francisco's overdose crisis worsened when fentanyl hit the city's drug supply. 
[02:30.38]Fentanyl can be 50 to 100 times stronger than the pain medication morphine.
[02:38.03]The coronavirus pandemic has also worsened the situation. 
[02:43.97]City services, such as housing help and drug treatment, have been disrupted.
[02:52.05]Nearly 40 percent of the deaths were reported in two downtown neighborhoods. 
[02:58.50]However, the drug crisis has touched every part of the city. 
[03:03.68]Many people overdosed in low-income apartment buildings and in city-funded hotel rooms for the homeless.
[03:13.09]Others died alone on sidewalks, in alleyways and in parks around the city.
[03:21.85]I'm Anna Matteo
