Key Points

In Week 15, epidemiological indicators remained at a high level, but showed a downward trend, while hospital capacity remained strained

• Decrease in incidence and testing rates compared to the adjusted rates from Week 14

• Increase in the positivity rate

• Slight decrease in new hospitalizations and admissions to critical care

• Stabilization at a high level of the number of patients in hospitals and critical care units

• COVID-19-related mortality remains high

• Mainland France: Île-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Hauts-de-France regions remain severely affected

• Overseas territories: increase in incidence and positivity rates in French Guiana

Variants

• Stabilization in the proportion of suspected variants of concern (VOCs) identified by screening RT-PCR:

  • suspected cases of the 20I/501Y.V1 variant are the majority in mainland France at 82.3%

  • suspected cases of the 20H/501Y.V2 or 20J/501Y.V3 variants remain stable at 4.2%

Prevention

• Contribution of the contact-tracing system to limiting the spread of the epidemic

• Vaccination: 1,301,837 people have received at least one dose (vaccination coverage: 19.4%)

• Importance of consistently following preventive measures and limiting contact and travel

• If symptoms develop, immediate isolation is required, and a test must be taken as soon as possible