With the holidays approaching, it's not just a predicted rise in virus cases that has health officials worried.

“The opioid crisis continues,” said Ray Barishansky, the state's deputy secretary of health preparedness and community protection, on Tuesday.

Barishansky said counties across the state are reporting a rise in overdoses. In Butler County, there have been 58 confirmed overdose deaths this year through October, according to the county coroner's office. Data for the remainder of the year will be unavailable until at least January. Last year, there were 60 confirmed overdose-related deaths.

“We cannot afford to forget a single one,” said Barishansky, who also serves as the incident commander of the state's Opioid Command Center. “The opioid crisis continues, and we cannot turn our back on it.”

During the first few months of the coronavirus pandemic, inpatient programs and meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous were canceled or moved online as a measure against the spread of the virus.

Health officials hoped people in recovery would make the cyber transition, but Robert Muntz, a coordinator of drug and alcohol services at Butler Memorial Hospital, said those predictions were overly optimistic.

“Something really was lost from not doing face-to-face conversations,” Muntz said.

More recently, meetings have returned to being in person, but Donna Jenereski, the director of the county's Drug and Alcohol program, said it is likely things will go back online as virus cases resurge.

Jenereski said the other problem with online meetings is that it's harder to get access to naloxone since the medication, which blocks the effects of opioids and is commonly used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdoses, usually is handed out at many drug recovery-related meetings.

“I think it has led to much more isolation for addicts,” Jenereski said. “We hear it and see it in their faces. For people in recovery dealing with everything this year, it's been really hard on many of them.”

Barishansky spoke at a media event Tuesday about the increased struggles of drug addiction this year in the shadow of the COVID-19 crisis. Barishansky used the opportunity to urge Pennsylvanians to help their fellow citizens who might be struggling with addiction, noting that the holidays can be a lonely time for many, especially now with quarantine measures. Jennifer Smith, secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, also spoke during the event.

“We know that with the holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and various others approaching, it can be a difficult time for those struggling with this disease,” he said. “Due to COVID-19, this year could be even more difficult.”

Barishansky stressed that addiction is a disease and pushed for people to not turn their backs on addicts.

“These are members of our community,” he said. “The effects of COVID-19 highlights struggles we still have to deal with.”

He also urged family members, friends and others to carry around naloxone.

“Addressing the opioid crisis is a marathon, not a sprint, and 2020 has proved this to be true,” Barishansky said.