The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said Tuesday that it has confirmed 2,000 opioid-related deaths last year, the highest number reported in a single year. [Health News Illinois] 

More than 91 percent of the opioid overdose deaths involved fentanyl, up about 2 percentage points from the prior year.

Of the deaths, 56 percent were Black residents, 29 percent were white and just under 15 percent were Latinx.

Just over 70 percent of opioid overdose deaths were in the city of Chicago.

The previous single-year high in opioid deaths was 1,935 reported in 2021.

 The office said data from 2023 is not yet available as it awaits toxicology results for pending cases.

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