Up to 600 Opioid Deaths in 2017 – Outreach Discusses Impact

February 4, 2018

Authorities are projecting as many as 600 people on Long Island died last year from opioid overdoses, part of a national epidemic that caused more than 60,000 fatalities in 2016.

The total number of deaths is expected to be at least 400 for Suffolk, breaking the record set in 2016, law enforcement and medical examiner officials said, pending outstanding toxicology reports. In Nassau, officials project the number of overdose deaths will likely match the 195 in 2016.

Toxicology tests have confirmed opioid overdoses killed 421 people in Nassau and Suffolk counties last year.

Visit Newsday for the full story.