Telegraph photo by ADAM URQUHART Regional Director at American Medical Response Chris Stawasz sits in front of his computer Monday looking over some statistics.

NASHUA – After two consecutive months of record lows, the number of suspected opioid overdoses in May for the Gate City has increased 73 percent from April.

March had previously marked the lowest number of suspected opioid overdose calls American Medical Response (AMR) received since officials began tracking this data in 2015. April went on to beat March’s statistics to become the new low since tracking began.

As more sectors of the economy slowly reopen and people begin returning to some semblance of normal, recent statistics have spiked. According to AMR, May overdose numbers are more on par with what was experienced prior to the stay-at-home order. However, these statistics are still significantly lower than May of 2019.

Regional Director with AMR Chris Stawasz’s theory is that there is more traffic on the road and more people moving around.

“It went way up from the previous month when everybody was pretty much just hunkered down and not doing anything or going anywhere,” Stawasz said.

In May 2020 there were 19 suspected opioid overdoses in Nashua. There were also four fatal overdoses during May. Additionally, in the last 365 days overdoses in Nashua have decreased by 16 percent. Two deaths are pending for the year in Nashua.

“The other thing that I worry about too is that when somebody goes without their usual dose of opioids they tend to lose that tolerance level between uses, so they’re more at risk when they use what they consider to be their regular dose,” Stawasz said. “They’re much more at risk to overdose and if they do it alone that’s pretty dangerous.”

Over the course of the pandemic, the number of calls AMR receives has been down, although now Stawasz said they are seeing a little bit of an increase, adding that the call volume is certainly not back to what pre-COVID-19 levels were by any stretch. There have been a few more car accidents and things of that nature, but Stawasz said AMR is still between 10 and 15 percent below their historical levels of call volume.

Adam Urquhart may be contacted at 594-1206, or at aurquhart@nashuatelegraph.com.