Key points

In week 45, SARS-CoV-2 circulation intensified in metropolitan France, and the upward trend for new hospitalisations was confirmed.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Incidence rate* rising in all age groups and regions

  • Screening rate* sharply increasing in children with the return to school after the holidays

  • Stable or increasing new hospital admissions in all regions

• Overseas France:

  • Worrying situation in Reunion Island with a sharp increase in the incidence rate

  • Lower SARS-CoV-2 circulation and improved hospital indicators in French Guiana

Variants

• Delta variant identified in almost 100% of sequenced samples in the latest Flash Survey (25-29 October 2021)

Contact tracing

• With the end of the school holidays, higher number of cases attending school and lower number of cases travelling outside their region of residence

• Shorter delay between first clinical signs and testing: 2.2 days following a substantial rise in week 44

Prevention

• CoviPrev Survey, Wave 29 (28 October-5 November): Higher proportion of unvaccinated people refusing to be tested in case of symptoms

• Vaccination on 16 November 2021 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 76.9% of the French population had received at least one vaccine dose, and 75.2% were fully vaccinated

  • Among the population aged 65 years and older, 29.1% had received a booster shot, representing 68.1% of eligible persons in this age group

• Importance of combining measures: vaccination, including the booster shot for the population over 65 years, adherence to contact tracing, and respect of preventive measures