Overdoses deaths in at least on area of St. Tammany Parish have sharply increased during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Officials for St. Tammany Fire District No. 1 have noticed a huge uptick in overdose cases from March through June of 2020 versus the same time frame last year.
Since March 13, St. Tammany Fire District No.1 has responded to 42 overdoses in which they administered Naloxone (Narcan), the opioid reversing drug, a total of 30 times.
Fire District No. 1 responded to just seven overdoses and administered Narcan four times for the same time period in 2019.
Fire Chief Chris Kaufmann says that as essential services, they have not shut down during the entire pandemic and have managed to keep all 176 of employees healthy to this point.
“We will continue to do our part to respond to all emergencies within our fire district.