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 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. Since then, thanks to the general lockdown measures, all epidemiological surveillance indicators—COVID-19 activity in the community (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—have been trending downward. While viral circulation has declined significantly and pressure on the healthcare system has eased considerably, the virus is still present. In Week 27, most surveillance indicators were decreasing, although a slight increase in SOS Médecins activity was observed in two departments.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

In week 28 of 2020 (July 6–12), testing activity remained stable compared to the previous week, with 32,913 RT-PCR tests performed. The number of new biologically confirmed cases (154) and the incidence rate (2.8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) in week 28 of 2020 are also stable compared to week 27 of 2020, with 149 new cases and an incidence of 2.7 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively. For the third consecutive week, the regional weekly incidence rate is lower than the national incidence rate (5.7 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). However, four and a half months after its emergence, the virus is still present in the region, and for several epidemiological indicators, the observed trends are less favorable.

In week 28 of 2020, all departments in the region had a weekly incidence rate below the vigilance threshold of 10 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. An upward trend is nevertheless observed in five departments of the region: Aube, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Bas-Rhin, and Vosges. Furthermore, in the Vosges (5.0 per 100,000 inhabitants), Meurthe-et-Moselle (4.2 per 100,000 inhabitants), and Bas-Rhin (3.3 per 100,000 inhabitants), as well as in Haut-Rhin (3.5 per 100,000 inhabitants), viral circulation is also higher.

The rate of in-person or telemedicine consultations for acute respiratory infections reported by the sentinel network is up compared to the previous week, as is the number of consultations for suspected COVID-19 from the region’s five SOS Médecins associations (152 versus 118 the previous week). The number of emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s healthcare facilities remains stable, as does the number of new admissions to intensive care units. In week 28 of 2020, only the number of new hospitalizations continues to decline compared to the previous week.

In light of these less favorable trends, vigilance and strict adherence by everyone, under all circumstances, to preventive measures and social distancing remain absolutely essential to prevent any resurgence of the epidemic in the coming weeks.

As of July 15, 2020, 70 clusters or outbreaks of grouped cases have been identified since May 11 (six more than the previous week), 34 of which are currently under investigation. No uncontrolled community spread (the emergence of new cases outside the cluster and linked to it) has been reported.