Medical Health officers are beginning work following the declaration of a public health emergency in British Columbia.
The provincial medical health officer made the move yesterday, following a significant increase in drug overdose deaths this year.
Medical Health Officer for the North Island, Charmaine Enns says the action allows medical health officers to collect more real-time information on overdoses.
Enns says historically there is, on average, one overdose death a week on Vancouver Island. She says there have been 40 since the start of the new year.
