The latest available figures released by the B.C. Coroners Service show a record death toll from illicit drug overdoses through the first ten months of 2021. 1,782 people died, surpassing the 1,765 deaths recorded in 2020.
The data from November and December are not available yet but we know October in BC saw a single month record high of 201 illicit drug overdose fatalities. These deaths occurred in all age groups and in every local health area in the province.
During the Canada Post strike announced September 25, 2025, the following measures will be undertaken to minimize service disruption to BC-CfE clients and providers.
During the Canada Post strike, we recommend that documents be faxed or couriered to our sites, versus utilization of regular mail service
The BC-CfE Laboratory is streamlining reporting processes for certain tests in order to simplify distribution and record-keeping, and to ensure completeness of results. Beginning September 2, 2025, results for the ‘Resistance Analysis of HIV-1 Protease and Reverse Transcriptase’ (Protease-RT) and ‘HIV-1 Integrase Resistance Genotype’ tests will be combined into a single ‘HIV-1 Resistance Genotype Report’.
For more details and example reports, please click on the button below
