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    U.S. Sees Deadly Drug Overdose Spike During Pandemic

    "During the pandemic, basically everything is pointed in the wrong direction," says one federal health official, who calls the convergence of COVID-19 and America's addiction crisis "a nightmare."
    by Brian Mann Aug 13, 2020 3 minutes
    Jennifer Austin, a recovery coach who has struggled with addiction, usually hosts Narcotics Anonymous classes at this Salvation Army center in Ogdensburg, N.Y. They've been canceled because of the pandemic, leaving more people vulnerable to relapse and overdose. "I've had people I've never worked with before reach out to me and say, 'Jen, what do I do?'" Austin said.

    New data from around the U.S. confirms that drug overdoses are spiking during the coronavirus pandemic, rising by roughly 18%.

    Reports collected in real time by the Washington, D.C.-based group ODMAP — the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program, located at the University of Baltimore — also found a significant spike in the number of fatal overdoses.

    "Overdose clusters have shifted from traditional centralized urban locations to adjacent and surrounding suburban and rural areas,"

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