Key Points

• Last week, a slight decrease in the incidence rate was observed, dropping from 244 to 208 per 100,000 inhabitants. This trend was seen in all areas except the island of Cayenne, where the incidence remained stable. At the same time, the Delta variant has spread rapidly across the territory: it now accounts for more than 40% of screened samples and will become the dominant variant in French Guiana within one or two weeks. Its spread is faster than that of the Gamma variant last March. Data for the current week, though incomplete, show that the trend has been rising again since Monday (400 cases have already been recorded).

• Consequently, the apparent stability at a high level reflects the overlap of two waves that will likely follow one another as the third wave (Gamma) ends and the fourth wave (Delta) begins.

• Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have also decreased slightly, but the prospect of a resurgence in the epidemic is likely to lead to a rise in hospitalizations as well.

• The third wave of COVID-19 in French Guiana has had the most severe impact on our territory; during the month of July, more than 70 people were admitted to intensive care units in French Guianan hospitals, and 40 people died.

• The rapid spread of the Delta variant over the past three weeks in the territory raises fears of an epidemic resurgence without a calmer inter-epidemic phase, as was the case during previous waves.

• Vaccination coverage stands at 17%: less than one in five people is fully vaccinated, which is insufficient to provide collective protection for the territory. Furthermore, only one in three people over the age of 50 is fully vaccinated, even though this group is particularly at higher risk of developing severe COVID-19. It is also worth noting that among the 290 people admitted to intensive care since the start of the campaign, only 3 had received two doses of the vaccine.