AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's largest "overdose outbreak" in nearly 10 years is officially over, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (ATCEMS).
On Friday, ATCEMS declared opioid overdoses have returned to their usual level following an uptick that started early last week.
"While some opioid overdoses continue, we are no longer seeing large volumes of incidents with similar signatures to those related to the surge," ATCEMS said in a press release.
Starting Monday, April 29, first responders saw a 1,000% increase in call volumes related to a "deadly batch" of narcotics believed to be laced with fentanyl.
As the outbreak continued to spread, officials said as many as nine opioid-related deaths were suspected.
ATCEMS reported the final number of suspected overdoses at 79, with 438 Narcan doses distributed.
Narcan, also called Naloxone, works to reverse the impacts of opioids like fentanyl in real time. Last week, ATCEMS doubled its usual amount of hand-outs to people across the city.
"All of the lives that were saved throughout the last couple of days have been due to Narcan," Heidi Abraham, ATCEMS' chief deputy medical director, said last week.
Last Monday, 55-year-old Johnny Lee Wright was arrested in an apparent connection to the outbreak. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and is currently being held in the Travis County Jail on a $10,000 bond. He could face additional charges.
Another person was detained after allegedly handing drugs to Wright, but she has not yet been charged with any crimes.
ATCEMS said it will no longer provide frequent updates on the suspected overdoses because the numbers have returned to regular levels.