Key Points

In week 16, there was a moderate decline in epidemiological indicators, which remained at high levels, with continued strain on hospitals.

• Decrease in the incidence rate and testing rate for the second consecutive week, though smaller than in Week 15

• Limited decrease in new hospitalizations; stabilization of critical care admissions

• Beneficial impact of restriction measures on the trend of surveillance indicators

• COVID-19-related mortality remains high

• Metropolitan France: Île-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and Hauts-de-France regions most affected

• Overseas territories: increase in epidemiological indicators in French Guiana and Réunion

Variants

• Proportion of suspected variants of concern (VOCs) identified by screening RT-PCR:

  • suspected cases of the 20I/501Y.V1 variant are the majority and stable in mainland France at 82.7%

  • suspected cases of the 20H/501Y.V2 or 20J/501Y.V3 variants at 5.0%, with variations at the departmental level

Prevention

• Vaccination:

  • 14,601,130 people have received at least one dose, vaccination coverage of 21.8%

  • 6,115,998 people fully vaccinated, vaccination coverage at 9.1%

• 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