Key points

In week 10, circulation of SARS-CoV-2 increased to a high level across French territories while hospital admissions stabilised.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Incidence rate rising in all age groups and regions

  • Positivity rate high and rising again

  • Numbers of new intensive care admissions and deaths continue to fall

  Overseas France:

  • Incidence rate on the rise and particularly high in Martinique (>3,000/100,000)

Variants

• Omicron accounted for 99.9% of interpretable sequences in the Flash Survey of 28 February for week 9

• BA.2 sub-lineage in majority (57% in week 9)

Contact tracing

• Rise in the number of new contact cases (+25%) and new contacts at risk (+14%)

• Of those contacted, 82% of cases and 84% of contacts were reached by SMS

Prevention

• Vaccination on 15 March 2022 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • 79.5% of the French population had completed a primary vaccination series

  • 73.0% of the 18+ age group (representing 82.6% of those eligible) and 83.0% 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).