Key points

In week 9, circulation of SARS-CoV-2 declined at a slower rate nationally, with incidence remaining at a high level and a decrease in hospital admissions.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Incidence rate >500/100,000 inhabitants in the majority of regions

  • Incidence rates rising among 3-10 year-olds

  • Positivity rate stable at a high level

  • Hospital admissions and deaths continue to decrease

  Overseas France:

  • Sharp increase in incidence and positivity rates in Martinique

Variants

• Omicron accounted for 99.9% of interpretable sequences in the Flash Survey of 21 February for week 8

• BA.2 sub-lineage increasing in week 8 (43%) and dominant in week 9 (52%, preliminary data)

Contact tracing

• Average number of contacts declared per case called (1.0) stable at a low level

• Majority of cases (99%) and contacts (78%) contacted on the day of or the day after identification

• Increase in the proportion of cases called who had participated in a sporting event or attended a school

Prevention

• Vaccination on 8 March 2022 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 79.4% of the French population had completed a primary vaccination series

  • 72.8% of the 18+ age group (representing 82.6% of those eligible) and 82.9% of the 65+ age group (91.0% of those eligible) had received a booster shot

• Importance of combining measures: full vaccination series with a booster at 3 months and maintaining recommended precautionary measures (mask wearing, hand washing, frequent ventilation of enclosed spaces and adherence to contact tracing).