King County sees sharp rise in fatal overdoses in last 2 weeks

SEATTLE — Public Health – Seattle & King County officials said there has been a sharp rise in the number of fatal overdoses over the last two weeks.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said between Dec. 27, 2020 and Jan. 9, 2021, 42 suspected or confirmed overdose deaths were identified.

The number of fatal overdoses is the highest in a two-week period ever documented in King County.

Public Health said preliminary testing showed that most of the recent overdoses involved several types of drugs, including 17 fatal overdoses that likely involved methamphetamine and seven that likely involved fentanyl.

The overdoses happened across King County and half the victims were between the ages of 36 and 55. During the two-week period, 45 percent of the fatal overdoses were among females, which is higher than usual, public health said.

Read more about the recent overdoses at this link.

Cox Media Group