Key indicators

City Monitoring

• SOS Médecins: Week 15 of 2020 (April 6–12) Covid-19-related activity among SOS Médecins associations decreased for the second consecutive week, with 664 consultations for suspected Covid-19, representing 15.5% of the total activity of the five SOS Médecins associations in the Grand Est region (compared to 1,095 consultations and 25.8% of activity in week 14 of 2020). However, the percentage of hospitalizations following a consultation has remained stable (7.8% in week 15 of 2020) since the start of the epidemic.

• Sentinelles Network: 208 (tele-)consultations for acute respiratory infections (ARI) per 100,000 inhabitants in week 15 of 2020, compared to 497 per 100,000 in week 14 of 2020; down for the second consecutive week.

• Clinical laboratories (LBM) participating in the “3 Labs” surveillance network (Eurofins-Biomnis-Cerba): 20.2% of tests were positive in week 15 of 2020, compared to 27.5% in week 14 of 2020; this marks a decline for the third consecutive week.

• MBL (Surveillance of 10 laboratories outside the “3 Labs” surveillance): 25.7% of tests were positive in week 15 of 2020, compared to 27.8% in week 14 of 2020. The proportion of positive tests has been decreasing since week 13 of 2020.

Surveillance in social and medical-social facilities, including medical and non-medical facilities for the elderly

• Since the start of the epidemic, 8,918 confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 have been reported among residents and 5,196 among staff. With 7,910 cases among residents and 3,983 among staff, respectively, medical and non-medical facilities for the elderly have been the most affected.

Hospital Surveillance

• Oscour® Network: In week 15 of 2020, 1,837 visits for suspected COVID-19 were recorded in emergency departments across the Grand Est region, representing 13.7% of total activity in these departments (compared to 2,842 visits and 21.5% of total activity in week 14 of 2020). Nearly half of these emergency room visits for Covid-19 led to hospitalization; this proportion has remained stable since the start of the epidemic.

• Healthcare facilities: In week 15 of 2020, and for the first time since the start of the epidemic, the number of new hospitalizations and new admissions to intensive care units decreased by 26.1% and 51.5%, respectively. Meanwhile, the number of patients discharged home is on the rise.

• Hospital laboratories: 26.3% of tests were positive in week 15 of 2020 (compared to 38.9% in week 14 of 2020), marking a decline for the second consecutive week.

• Sentinel intensive care units: 45% of severe COVID-19 cases admitted to intensive care were aged 65 and older. 62% of cases had at least one known risk factor (36% had a heart condition, 24% had a lung condition, and 22% had diabetes (type 1 or 2)). 18% of severe COVID-19 cases died.

Mortality Surveillance

• Since March 1, 2020, healthcare facilities in the Grand Est region have reported 2,249 deaths linked to COVID-19. The weekly number of deaths in healthcare facilities is decreasing (-13.2%) for the first time since the start of the epidemic. These were primarily people aged 60 and older (96%); 86% were aged 70 and older.

• Since March 1, 2020, medical and non-medical facilities for the elderly in the Grand Est region have reported 1,146 resident deaths linked to COVID-19 that occurred within these facilities. Other social and medical-social facilities have reported 33 resident deaths linked to COVID-19.

• Excess mortality, across all age groups, has been observed in the Grand Est region since week 11 of 2020. In week 14 of 2020, exceptionally high excess mortality was observed in the Haut-Rhin (+225%) and Moselle (+148%) departments, and very high excess mortality in the Bas-Rhin (+128%) and Vosges (+124%) departments.

• In week 14 of 2020, only the departments of Ardennes and Aube did not record excess mortality.