Opioid deaths have surged across the United States during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic; the strict lockdown measures have put many Americans out of work and taken away patients from necessary medical and mental health care.

The opioid crisis is worsening as annual deaths from the drugs doubled in the past decade.

County health departments across the country are facing a significantly increased number of opioid deaths over last year’s data and over deaths tallied in the first few months of the year before the stay-at-home orders due to the pandemic were put in place, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Addicts and those struggling to stay sober have suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Social distancing norms and the fear of virus have compelled people to stay more isolated from society. It has also limited the typical tools used by people struggling with addiction, such as sessions with therapists.

When COVID hit, personal communication – touching and meeting each other was not allowed. The worst thing for anyone who is on drugs is to be isolated, according to Ms. Hicks.

Gary Tsai is the interim director of substance abuse prevention and control for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He noted that opioid deaths in his county, the most populous in the country, rose 48% in the first six weeks of the pandemic as mentioned by the Wall Street Journal.

Tsai also said that people struggling with addiction are indoor, stressed, maybe without jobs or a family member. These are factors leading to increased drug abuse. The number of deadly overdoses through August of this year almost matched the total number of opioid deaths in all of 2019, in Franklin County, Ohio.

In Washington, D.C., the pandemic and lockdowns have fueled a surge in drug overdoses.

The district’s chief medical examiner said that 47 people died from overdoses in April, the highest number to die in a single month since 2016. The pace of drug overdoses is set to hit a record high in Washington.

In 2017, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency.

He had also mentioned that the opioid crisis is an emergency, and said that he officially declares it to be so. A lot of time, money and efforts will be spent on the opioid crisis.