Key points

In week 3, circulation of SARS-CoV-2 continued to progress at a very high level. The heavy strain on hospital services is increasing but the pressure on intensive care units is easing.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Incidence rates very high (>2,500) and rising in all regions except Île-de-France

  • In Île-de-France: situation starting to improve, virological and hospital indicators remain at high levels

  • Increase in death rate affecting mainly adults aged 60+ in all regions

• Overseas France:

  • In Reunion Island, incidence and hospital admission rates increasing and at much higher levels than those of previous waves

  • Situation improved in Mayotte and French Guiana

Contact tracing

• 4-point increase in contaminations that may have taken place in long-term care facilities (including nursing homes) among people aged 75+, leading to heightened vigilance in these settings

Prevention

• Vaccination on 25 January 2022 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 78.3% of the French population had received a complete primary vaccination series

  • 64.7% of the 18+ age group (representing 75.4% of those eligible) and 80.4% of the 65+ age group (88.9% of those eligible) had received a booster shot

• Importance of combining measures:

  • Complete vaccination series with a booster at 3 months

  • Compliance with preventive measures including wearing a mask and reducing contacts, along with other precautionary recommendations such as frequent ventilation of enclosed spaces, working from home and adherence to contact tracing