In Orange County, the rate of death due to opioid overdose nearly tripled from 2017 to 2021, from 7.9 deaths per 100,000 to 23.2. The largest increase occurred during the first year of the pandemic, with the overdose rate rising 88% between 2019 and 2020,

No further details had been made public yet, including when the victims died or what drug or other substance may have led to the deaths.