SANTA CLARA, Calif.—San Francisco continues to face a drug overdose epidemic. The number of overdose deaths nearly tripled that of COVID deaths in 2020. The city’s data reveals there were a total of 713 overdose deaths, compared to 261 COVID-19 deaths in 2020. “Bad is an understatement. I would say it’s horrific, it is negligent, it is an epidemic in and of itself, and it was not always this way,” Jenny Shao, a freelance multimedia video journalist and San Francisco native, told NTD Television. She says drug overdoses have been an ongoing crisis for the city but have gotten much worse over the last five years. “Before, you were able to walk through the streets … and you did not have to try and tiptoe over bodies not knowing whether they were dead or alive.” Shao said. Shao continued, “And, also, you did not have to hopscotch through anything like …