TORONTO -- New provincial data shows more than 400 Ontarians died from opioid overdoses during the first three months of this year.

Public Health Ontario has released updated statistics that indicate 435 people died from opioid-related causes from January to March 2019 -- up from 307 deaths during the same period in 2018.

The data also shows there were 3,420 emergency department visits due to opioid overdoses from April to June 2019.

That's an increase over the same period in 2018, which saw 2,308 emergency department visits caused by opioid overdoses.

The latest figures are the most recent statistics available from Public Health Ontario.

Nearly 1,500 Ontarians died from opioid overdoses in all of 2018, an increase of about 17 per cent from the previous year.

This report by the Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2019.