Merry and Bright Albuquerque’s Annual Twinkle Light Parade If you think the holidays just aren’t the same without twinkle lights, Albuquerque has the perfect celebration for you. Named the second best holiday parade in the U.S. by USA Today in 2016, the Twinkle Light Parade in Nobb Hill is a festive tradition certain to entertain both children and adults alike. Usually consisting of hundreds of vehicles, thousands of people, and hundreds of thousands of lights, the Twinkle Light Parade is held in early December to usher in the holiday season. Local citizens, businesses, and organizations apply to have their float included in the event, with the most impressive submissions getting top priority. Participants can get as creative as they want, but they must use as many lights as possible! All participants are eligible to win cash prizes in various best float categories, but the real reward is bragging rights for putting on the best show. In addition to cars covered in twinkle lights, the parade also usually boasts motorcycles, semi-trucks, bicycles, carolers, marching bands, animals, and all other kinds of surprises. Of course, the parade ends with the arrival of Santa. Sadly, the parade was canceled last year due to COVID-19 precautions, but organizers plan for the 2021 celebration to be better than ever. This year’s parade will be held on Saturday,
Since the mid-1990s, over 500,000 deaths have been attributed to opioids. Many factors fueled the problem: corporate greed, economic recession, and changing attitudes toward pain treatments. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which escalated the opioid crisis to untold levels. Data released by the National Center for Health Statistics on July 14 show a large increase in overdose deaths. Between December 2019 and December 2020, more than 93,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. That’s nearly 29.4% higher than the previous 12 months. This means that, on average, 255 Americans were dying from overdoses every day. One of the most notable things about the opioid crisis during the pandemic is the increase in death by overdose throughout the country. States like West Virginia have always been at the center of the crisis, but How COVID-19 Worsened America’s Opioid Crisis ... Lockdowns Made Things Tough
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states like California, Arizona, and Colorado have seen shocking increases in overdoses. Opioid-related deaths have gone up for men and women of every race and age, and the numbers aren’t slowing down.
The question still lingers — why have opioid deaths increased during the pandemic?
The first reason focuses on the lockdowns. Many people were furloughed or completely cut off from work. This led to isolation, which is unhealthy for most people. For those already using opioids, they had more free time to use and their habits only grew worse. Then, hospitals became overloaded during the pandemic. Those already recovering from addiction found it more difficult to get medical treatment when the pandemic started. Most medical attention focused on COVID-19 patients, and many former opioid users fell to the wayside. The impact was even worse if they had lost their job — which led some people to return to old habits. As the pandemic continues to rage on, the opioid crisis has not waned. It could take years for opioid use to level out. And that assumes it won’t continue to increase.
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