PORT HOPE, ON (August 23, 2021) - International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31 coincides with a worrying increase in opioid overdose-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths in the region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent weeks, both Cobourg and Haliburton County have seen a rise in overdose incidents. Between April 2020 and March 2021, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit has noted almost double the number of opioid-related deaths in its region (Haliburton, Northumberland County and the City of Kawartha Lakes) as compared to April 2019 and March 2020.

PORT HOPE, ON (August 19, 2021) - There’s reason to smile, as more older adults in the region may now qualify for a provincial program that pays the costs of dental care.