Waterloo officers administered naloxone 35 times in 2018

Waterloo Regional Police announced Thursday that officers administered naloxone 35 times in 2018.

The revelation was made on Twitter, adding that an officer had recently located an unconscious man and administered the drug before the man was taken to hospital.

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There were also 50 confirmed overdose-related deaths as of Jan. 2, a number which has decreased from 85 a year earlier.

Police gave credit to naloxone and the general public for seeing a decrease in overdose-related deaths.

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“Good Samaritans and naloxone are believed to be contributing factors to lower fatal overdose rates,” police said.

While the number of deaths in Waterloo region has fallen, the number of overdose related calls continues to rise.

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Rob Crossan, deputy chief of paramedic services for the Region of Waterloo, recently told Global News that there were 200 opioid-related overdose calls in 2015, 400 calls in 2016 and 804 calls in 2017.

According to the numbers from WRIDS, that number reached 843 in 2018.