ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Health officials say opioid overdose deaths have declined for the first time in a decade among New Yorkers outside of New York City.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that opioid fatalities dropped 15.9%-from 2,170 in 2017 to 1,824 in 2018.
Preliminary state Department of Health data also showed hospitalizations for opioid overdoses outside of the city fell 7.1%-from 3,260 in 2017 to 3,029 in 2018.
The Democrat said the decline was a “direct result” of services initiated by a state task force convened in 2016.
New York City health officials reported in August that overdose deaths in the city declined 2.6% from 2017 to 2018 after years of increases.
