The number of deaths related to excessive alcohol surged amid the stress and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The annual average number of deaths stemming from alcohol use jumped 29%, to 178,000 from 138,000, between 2016-2017 and 2020-2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed last month.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, that was about 488 deaths per day, the data showed.

Two-thirds of those fatalities were from long-term conditions such as liver disease and other complications from long-term alcohol abuse.