According to Quest Diagnostics, the number of workforce positive drug tests in the United States, specifically in the Midwest, hit a 16-year high in 2019. Senior Director of Science and Technology for Quest called COVID-19 an accelerant on an already alarming trend and recommends that organizations consider its impact on workplace safety and as a health concern. Public health officials also are seeing spikes in drug overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 30 states reporting increases in opioid-involved overdose deaths. Specifically, the Quest findings have revealed that drug deaths in the U.S. rose 5 percent last year, due to methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl, and in the first few months of this year, drug deaths have increased by 14 percent when compared with last year.
