Key Points

What is currently known about the situation in the Grand Est region?

The Grand Est region recorded its first confirmed cases of COVID-19 in week 9 of 2020 (February 24–March 1), and the peak of the outbreak occurred in week 13 of 2020 (March 23–29), with 4,116 emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 (six times the activity typically seen for influenza and flu-like illness during the peak week of a typical flu season) and 1,494 consultations at the region’s five SOS Médecins clinics. The number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 peaked in week 14 of 2020 (March 30–April 5) with 3,777 new hospitalizations, including 648 in intensive care (compared to a capacity of 471 ICU beds under normal conditions). That week, the region also recorded a record-high excess mortality across all medical causes, with a 116% increase in excess mortality compared to the same period in previous years. General lockdown measures helped drive down all epidemiological surveillance indicators: COVID-19 activity in urban areas (SOS Médecins associations and general practitioners participating in the Sentinelles network) and in emergency departments, testing activity in private and hospital medical laboratories, hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care units for COVID-19, and COVID-19-related deaths reported by healthcare facilities. After several weeks characterized by very low levels, viral circulation has been steadily increasing since week 29 of 2020 (July 13–19), returning to levels similar to—and now exceeding—those recorded immediately after the lifting of lockdown measures.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

In week 34 of 2020 (August 17–23), testing activity increased compared to the previous week, with 64,174 RT-PCR tests performed. The number of new biologically confirmed cases stands at 1,224 (+54% compared to the previous week), the highest number observed since the lifting of lockdown measures (616 new infections in week 21 of 2020). The regional incidence rate (19.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) increased in week 34 of 2020 compared to week 33 of 2020 (667 new cases, with an incidence of 12.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and is approaching the alert threshold of 20 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, it remains lower than the rate observed at the national level (40.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Three-quarters (80.1%) of new cases in week 34 of 2020 are under the age of 50 (51% are aged 20 to 39), 41% are asymptomatic, 39% are symptomatic, and for 20%, the information is not specified.

In week 34 of 2020, viral circulation is increasing in nearly all departments in the region: the incidence rate is rising in eight of them: the Ardennes (7.2 per 100,000 inhabitants), Aube (26.5 per 100,000 inhabitants), Marne (18.6 per 100,000 inhabitants), Haute-Marne (11.2 per 100,000 inhabitants), Moselle (19.6 per 100,000 inhabitants), Meurthe-et-Moselle (17 per 100,000 inhabitants), Bas-Rhin (29.8 per 100,000 inhabitants), and Haut-Rhin (16.5 per 100,000 inhabitants). It exceeds the alert threshold of 10 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in eight departments. In contrast, in Meuse and Vosges, the incidence rate is declining (to 3.9 per 100,000 inhabitants and 11.4 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively). Given the worsening health situation, it remains essential that everyone, in all circumstances, adhere to preventive measures and social distancing to halt this deterioration. The number of consultations for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s five SOS Médecins associations and the number of emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s healthcare facilities remain stable compared to the previous week.

In week 34 of 2020, the number of new hospitalizations and the number of new admissions to intensive care units remained stable compared to the previous week. As of August 26, 129 clusters or episodes of grouped cases have been identified in the region since May 11 (38 more than the previous week), of which 48 are currently under investigation. No uncontrolled community spread (occurrence of new cases outside the cluster and linked to it) has been reported.