Summary

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 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 clinical 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 viral circulation, the rise in surveillance indicators, which began in week 29, continued in weeks 30 and 31.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

In week 31 of 2020 (July 27–August 2), testing activity remained steady and increased compared to the previous week, with 46,092 RT-PCR tests performed. The number of new biologically confirmed cases (427) and the incidence rate (8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) in week 31 of 2020 are higher than in week 30 of 2020 (347 new cases, with an incidence of 6.4 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). The regional weekly incidence rate remains, however, lower than the incidence observed at the national level (12.2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Between weeks 30 and 31 of 2020, the change in the epidemiological situation in the region is more pronounced than between weeks 29 and 30 of 2020. Furthermore, the positivity rate remains below 1%.
In week 31 of 2020, an increase in the incidence rate was observed in six departments of the region: Aube (4.2 per 100,000 inhabitants), Meuse (2.8 per 100,000 inhabitants), Moselle (8.3 per 100,000 inhabitants), Haut-Rhin (9.8 per 100,000 inhabitants), Bas-Rhin (6.4 per 100,000 inhabitants), and Meurthe-et-Moselle (16.6 per 100,000 inhabitants). For the latter two departments, this increase has been observed for the second consecutive week. Meurthe-et-Moselle has an incidence rate above the alert threshold set at 10 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (16.6 per 100,000 inhabitants) for the second consecutive week. Meanwhile, Haut-Rhin has an incidence rate close to the alert threshold (9.8 per 100,000 inhabitants). The less favorable trend observed across the board serves as a reminder that vigilance and adherence, by everyone and in all circumstances, to preventive measures and social distancing remain essential to prevent a resurgence of the epidemic.The rate of in-person and telemedicine consultations for acute respiratory infections (ARI) reported by the Sentinelles network has fallen by half (38 per 100,000 inhabitants in week 31 of 2020, compared to 72 per 100,000 inhabitants in week 30 of 2020). Similarly, the number of consultations for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s five SOS Médecins associations has decreased slightly (158 compared to 183 the previous week).
The number of emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s healthcare facilities has also decreased slightly (91 visits compared to 114). In week 31 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 5, 82 clusters or outbreaks of grouped cases have been identified in the region since May 11 (six more than the previous week), of which 32 are currently under investigation. No uncontrolled community spread (the emergence of new cases outside the cluster and linked to it) has been reported.