Key points

In week 48, the intense circulation of SARS-CoV-2 continued to accelerate in metropolitan France, with sharp rises in new hospital and intensive care admissions.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Incidence rate higher than the peaks of the third and fourth waves

  • Incidence rate above 600 cases per 100,000 inhabitants among 30-39 year-olds and 900 among 6-10 year-olds

  • New hospital and intensive care admissions increasing in almost all regions

• Overseas France:

  • Reunion Island: rising incidence rate and new hospital admissions

  • Martinique: active circulation of the virus and increase in hospital admissions

Variants

• Delta variant identified in more than 99% of sequenced samples in the Flash Survey from week 46 (15-17 November)

• 59 confirmed cases of Omicron variant in France as of 4 pm on 9 December

• Moderate circulation of the B.1.640 variant across the country

Contact tracing

• Decrease in the proportion of cases being investigated (in week 47) due to the high incidence

• Fewer new cases linked to known transmission chains

Prevention

• Vaccination on 7 December 2021 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 77.7% of the French population had received at least one vaccine dose, and 76.1% were fully vaccinated

  • 51.4% of people aged 65 years and older had received a booster shot, representing 76.4% of the eligible population in this age group

• Importance of combining measures: vaccine and booster shots, adherence to contact tracing, and respect of preventive measures, notably by reducing contacts and working from home