Key points

In week 7, the SARS-CoV-2 circulation indicators continued to improve, as did COVID-19 mortality rates, although indicators overall remained high.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Positivity and incidence rates were down in all age groups and in all regions

  • Hospital admissions fell in all regions except Corsica, where they remained stable.

  • Mortality remained high with over 1,500 deaths a week, but decreasing

  Overseas France:

  • Virological indicators and hospital admissions declined but remained high in Reunion Island

Contact tracing

• Stronger decrease in the number of new cases (-40%) than in the number of contact persons at risk (-14%)

• Decrease in the proportion of contact persons becoming positive cases (13%, -4 points)

Variants

• Omicron accounted for 99.5 % of interpretable sequences in the week 6 Flash Survey of 07/02/2022

• BA-2 sub-lineage was increasing (16% in week 6, 10% in week 5, 5% in week 4)

Prevention

• Vaccination on 22 February 2022 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 79.2% of the total population had completed a primary vaccination series

  • 71.9% of the 18+ age group (representing 82.1% of those eligible) and 82.6% of the 65+ age group (90.9% 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