Key Points

In Week 08 (February 22–28, 2021), 15,644 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were identified in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+5% compared to the previous week) amid a more significant increase in the number of tests performed (+13%). Viral circulation remains at a high level. The regional incidence rate (195/100,000) nevertheless remains below the national average (222/100,000). The positivity
rate decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 7.5%, bringing it closer to the national rate (7.3%).

The highest incidence rates are observed in the Rhône and Drôme departments. Two other departments have an incidence rate above 200 per 100,000 in S08: Ain and Isère. Incidence rates are stable or rising very slightly in all age groups except for those aged 75 and older, where the rate is decreasing significantly. Thus, in S08, the highest incidence rates are observed among those aged 15–45, followed by those aged 45–65, and then those aged 75 and older.

Variants of concern, which are more transmissible, continue to spread and have become the dominant strains in the region and in seven departments. Their proportion stands at 53% for the UK variant (20I/501Y.V1) and 3.8% for the South African and Brazilian variants (20H/501Y.V2 or 20J/501Y.V3). These proportions remain below the national averages (59.5% and 6.3%, respectively).

Consultations for suspected COVID-19 are generally on the rise (+8% for SOS Médecins calls and +5% for emergency room visits). The impact on hospitals remains high, with 3,305 people hospitalized in the region (a slight decrease), including 449 in intensive care (+11%). New hospitalizations continue to decline (-3%), and the number of new intensive care admissions, which had been rising in previous weeks, has decreased by 4%. The proportion of those aged 70 and older among hospitalized patients has decreased slightly. Hospitalization rates are particularly high in Ardèche, Drôme, and Rhône, and ICU admission rates are high in Rhône, Drôme, Isère, and Puy-de-Dôme. In long-term care facilities (ESMS), there has been an increase in the number of outbreaks and a slight rise in the number of confirmed cases and deaths among residents following three consecutive weeks of decline.

The number of hospital deaths related to COVID-19 has decreased by 7%. A significant excess mortality of moderate level from all causes is still observed in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in week 07 (February 15–21), for the “all ages” population and for those aged 65 and older.
As of March 2, 4.7% of the population of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (as in France) had received at least a first dose of the vaccine. This proportion reached 28.4% among those aged 75 and older and 74.8% of residents in nursing homes and long-term care facilities (81.8% in France).