Key Points

The number of cases has been rising in French Guiana for the past four weeks, with a sharp acceleration in infections observed last week: the number of cases has increased fivefold, and the incidence rate stands at 851 cases per 100,000 inhabitants—a rate never before seen in French Guiana and reflecting the rapid transmission of the Omicron variant, which is now the dominant strain in the territory. The effective R value has also increased and stands at 2.43, reflecting this trend. This upward trend affects all regions
except Oyapock, where the increase in cases is more moderate.

The rise in infections is reflected in a sharp increase in emergency room visits for suspected Covid, at the highest level since the start of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations across all departments have also been rising for the past week, though to a lesser extent than during previous waves relative to the number of cases. However, the continued spread of infections observed since Monday is likely to result in a continued rise in hospitalizations. Intensive care admissions are up slightly, with 8 people admitted over the past 7 days.

In French Guiana, 28% of the population has received two doses of the vaccine and 7% has received the booster dose.