Key Points

Monitoring of the COVID-19 Epidemic

There is a continuous and widespread deterioration in the indicators tracking the progression of the outbreak in the Hauts-de-France region. Currently, the Nord department and the European Metropolis of Lille are the hardest hit. This trend, regardless of the source of health data, reflects the highly active community spread of the epidemic in the region, which is responsible for an increase in healthcare utilization and new hospitalizations and ICU admissions. Since October 12, all five departments in Hauts-de-France have been classified as high-risk.

While the epidemic initially affected younger age groups, it now affects all age groups, and the intensification of community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is accompanied by an increase in incidence, particularly among the most vulnerable, including those aged 65 and older. This trend, which has intensified since early October, is reflected in the emergence of numerous cases and clusters currently affecting residents, patients, and caregivers in nursing homes, medical-social facilities, and healthcare facilities—the very same groups that had already paid the heaviest toll during the first wave of the epidemic.

The severe and ongoing deterioration of the epidemiological situation in the Lille metropolitan area has led the
Hauts-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS) to ask all healthcare facilities in the Lille Metropolitan Area (MEL) to activate their emergency response plan effective October 23.