Re: Eight dead, over 50 affected, in largest Austin opioid overdose outbreak in years

On 2024-05-05, useapen <[email protected]> wrote:
> More than 50 people overdosed Monday and Tuesday, resulting in the 
> suspected deaths of eight people, in what city officials called an 
> "outbreak" of opioid overdoses in Austin.
>
> At a news conference Tuesday, city employees convened to provide 
> additional information about the incidents and the investigation 
> surrounding the suspected overdoses. Austin-Travis County Emergency 
> Medical Services received more than 50 overdose-related calls by Tuesday 
> morning, an approximately 1,000% increase in overdose emergency calls in 
> one day, according to EMS Assistant Chief Steve White. The agency 
> typically receives one to two overdose calls per day, he said.
>
> White said Austin has not experienced this volume of overdoses since 2015, 
> when K2, a synthetic marijuana compound, struck the community.
>
> The overdose emergency calls began in downtown Austin at 1 a.m. Monday and 
> began cropping up in North, South and East Austin shortly thereafter, 
> until 4 a.m. Tuesday, Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Keith Pinkard 
> said at the news conference. Many patients were found in cardiac arrest, 
> White said.
>
> Patients represented a range of ages and demographics, said Austin Police 
> Assistant Chief Eric Fitzgerald, though none were under the age of 18. 
> Emergency calls came from businesses, residences and public areas. Most 
> calls were concentrated in downtown Austin, around Neches Street, between 
> East Sixth and East Eighth streets, EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said at an 
> initial press conference Monday.
>
> "There were patients that were unhoused; there were patients that were 
> housed," White said. "There were patients that were at their workplace, 
> and there were patients that were out in public spaces as well. It was not 
> limited to one geographic location.
>
> "We did notice that there were some spots that have had a higher density 
> of overdoses, but it was spread throughout the entire city."
>
> The medical examiner's office has conducted autopsies and toxicology 
> reports on the eight people whose deaths were tied to the overdoses, 
> Pinkard said. The reports are currently pending.
>
> Travis County Judge Andy Brown credited emergency responders with saving 
> many lives during the influx of calls. EMS community health paramedics 
> canvassed affected communities Monday and passed out more than 200 Narcan 
> kits, which can combat the effects of an overdose, to both their known 
> clientele and members of the public. One police sector went through its 
> entire stock of Narcan, White said. Individual room checks were done 
> inside local shelters by the city of Austin's Homeless Strategy Office to 
> ensure shelter residents had not been affected, an EMS news release said.
>
> White said that if the city had not prioritized the overdoses, the loss of 
> life would have been in the dozens.
>
> Patients taken to local hospitals responded well to Narcan administration, 
> increasing the likelihood that the substances ingested were opiates, the 
> release said.
>
> Patients reported using different types of drugs, though EMS did not 
> provide specifics on which suspected substances were causing the 
> overdoses, EMS Deputy Medical Director Dr. Heidi Abraham said at a news 
> conference Monday. Several patients treated Monday told paramedics they 
> thought they were taking a non-opioid narcotic, the release said.
>
> Murder charges
> Fitzgerald, the assistant police chief, said the Austin Police Department 
> would find those responsible for the overdoses and deaths and hold them 
> accountable. A new Texas law instituted tiered felony charges for 
> producing, delivering or distributing fentanyl in an effort to combat the 
> crisis.
>
> The Police Department detained two individuals Monday and arrested one 
> person. That person currently faces a firearm possession felony, with more 
> charges pending, Austin police Lt. Patrick Eastlick said.
>
> "Anyone found responsible for distributing fentanyl faces potential 
> charges of murder" or manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance 
> causing death or serious bodily injury, Eastlick said.
>
> The police investigation is being aided by the Drug Enforcement 
> Administration and the assistant U.S. attorney's office, he said.
>
> Overdose response and remediation efforts
> While the cause of the overdoses has not been found yet, Eastlick said 
> fentanyl is the likely culprit. Police said it was too early in the 
> investigation to determine where the drugs had come from.
>
> Brown, the county judge, said the Travis County Commissioners Court would 
> finalize a contract Tuesday with Texans Connecting Overdose Prevention 
> Efforts. The program allows community partners and first responders to 
> have real-time information about when, where and why overdoses are 
> occurring. He said the information can be used to tailor opioid response 
> and remediation efforts.
>
> Drug overdose deaths continue to be the No. 1 cause of nonaccidental 
> deaths in Travis County, Brown said, urging all those who can to carry a 
> Narcan kit.
>
> Narcan can be found at distribution centers across the city and can be 
> accessed with a Central Health Medical Access Program card at H-E-B and 
> CommUnityCare pharmacies, said Dr. Desmar Walkes, the county's public 
> health authority.
>
> Austin Public Health has received funding from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett 
> through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to 
> combat the opioid crisis, Walkes said.
>
> The funding "has gone a long way to help us prepare for days such as what 
> we had yesterday," Walkes said. "This funding of over $2 million has 
> allowed us to allocate 30,000 doses of naloxone to various community 
> members."
>
> She said the symptoms of an opioid overdose can appear as shallow or slow 
> breathing; confusion or loss of consciousness; change in skin color to 
> pale, blue or purple; and very small pupils.
>
> https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2024/04/30/austin-tx-opioid-
> overdose-outbreak-four-dead-dozens-affected/73510061007/

Xi and the CCP's plans to have America destroy itself are working out rather well.

-- 
pothead
Joe Biden is the absolute WORST President Of the U.S. ever.
Nobody else is even close. Including Jimmy Carter.
Vote for ANYBODY but Joe Biden in 2024.