Summary

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

The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded in week 09-2020 (February 24–March 1), and the peak of the epidemic occurred in week 13-2020 (March 23–29) in primary care and emergency departments. The number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 and admissions to intensive care units peaked in week 14 of 2020 (March 30–April 5). That week, the region also recorded a record-high excess mortality across all medical causes, with a 116% increase in excess deaths compared to the same period in previous years. Since then, 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, positive test rates in private and hospital medical laboratories, hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care units for COVID-19, and COVID-19-related deaths reported by healthcare facilities—have been trending downward as a result of lockdown measures. At the start of week 20-2020, as lockdown restrictions began to ease, vigilance and strict adherence to protective measures and social distancing were still essential, as active transmission of the virus was still being observed in the region.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

In week 21 of 2020 (May 18–24), two weeks after the lifting of lockdown measures, viral circulation is still being observed in the region, at low levels but varying by department. According to the Screening Information System (SI-DEP), which has been gradually ramping up since May 13, vigilance remains particularly important in the region, with 11.1 new biologically confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 6.2 per 100,000 inhabitants nationally. Meuse, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Moselle, and Haut-Rhin have rates exceeding 10 per 100,000 inhabitants. Furthermore, in week 21 of 2020, a number of epidemiological surveillance indicators are no longer declining. The number of SOS Médecins consultations for suspected COVID-19 has remained stable since the last week of lockdown, with slight local increases in Meurthe-et-Moselle and Haut-Rhin. The rate of consultations for acute respiratory infections among general practitioners participating in the Sentinelles network is increasing for the second consecutive week. The number of emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 is also stable in the region compared to week 20 of 2020, whereas it had been decreasing between weeks 19 and 20 of 2020 (-12%). At the departmental level, this number was even rising in Haute-Marne (+60%), Aube (+46%), and Bas-Rhin (+25%).

In hospitals, new hospitalizations for COVID-19 continue to be reported: 387, including 55 in intensive care. In week 21 of 2020, and for the first time since the peak of the epidemic, the weekly number of new intensive care admissions has not decreased. The region’s healthcare system remains under significant strain: 2,286 people are currently hospitalized for COVID-19, including 191 in intensive care as of May 27 (compared to 471 intensive care beds under normal conditions). The level of COVID-19 activity in emergency departments also remains high and still accounts for three-quarters of the activity in emergency departments related to influenza, as observed during the peak week of a seasonal influenza epidemic of typical magnitude.

As of May 27, the toll is particularly heavy for the region, with 5,213 deaths, including 3,389 in regional hospitals, 1,804 in nursing homes for the elderly, and 20 in other social and medical-social facilities.