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. 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, several surveillance indicators began to rise again in week 29 of 2020.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

In week 30 of 2020 (July 20–26), testing activity remained steady and increased compared to the previous week, with 41,734 RT-PCR tests performed. The number of new biologically confirmed cases (347) and the incidence rate (6.4 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants) in week 30 of 2020 are slightly higher than in week 29 of 2020 (323 new cases with an incidence of 6 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). The regional weekly incidence is nevertheless lower than the incidence observed at the national level (9.5 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Between weeks 29 and 30 of 2020, the change in the epidemiological situation in the region is less pronounced than between weeks 28 and 29 of 2020. Furthermore, the positivity rate has fallen back below 1%.
In week 30 of 2020, an increase in the incidence rate was observed in four departments of the region compared to the previous week: the Ardennes (2.3 per 100,000 inhabitants), the Bas-Rhin (4.5 per 100,000 inhabitants), the Marne (7.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), and Meurthe-et-Moselle (11.2 per 100,000 inhabitants). Two departments in the region have an incidence rate above the alert threshold set at 10 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants: Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Vosges (12.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, a sharp decrease compared to the previous week). The less favorable trend observed across the region 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 or telemedicine consultations for acute respiratory infections (ARI) reported by the Sentinelles network has nearly doubled (138 per 100,000 inhabitants in week 30 of 2020, compared to 77 per 100,000 inhabitants in week 29 of 2020). In contrast, the number of consultations for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s five SOS Médecins associations is down (183 compared to 250 the previous week).
The number of emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 at the region’s healthcare facilities’ emergency departments is slightly up (114 visits compared to 91). In week 30 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 July 29, 2020, 76 clusters or outbreaks of grouped cases have been identified in the region since May 11 (two more than the previous week), 30 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.