March 12, 2021

Notes from the Field: Opioid Overdose Deaths Before, During, and After an 11-Week COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order — Cook County, Illinois, January 1, 2018–October 6, 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Public Health Policy and Practice

Keywords (Tags): MMWR, public health

• A total of 3,843 deaths due to opioid overdose were identified in an analysis of data from Cook County, Illinois between January 2018 and October 2020, with the weekly count of deaths ranging from 12 to 52 deaths per week. Despite a stable weekly mean of 22.6 deaths per week prior to December 2019, mean weekly deaths increased to 35.1 per week beginning in December 2019, followed by a more pronounced increase to 43.4 weekly deaths during the stay-at-home order. Following lifting of the stay-at-home order, mean weekly deaths declined to 31.2 deaths per week. Despite a decline in weekly death rate following the period after the order was limited, death rates remain elevated above pre-2020 levels, which the authors conclude may indicate an upward trend. 

Mason et al. (Mar 12, 2021). Notes from the Field: Opioid Overdose Deaths Before, During, and After an 11-Week COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order — Cook County, Illinois, January 1, 2018–October 6, 2020. MMWR. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7010a3