Abstract

Following a gradual increase in COVID-19 cases in early February, the Île-de-France region experienced rapid community spread in March, with the epidemic peaking in week 13, from March 23 to 29. The impact of the epidemic was significant in the Île-de-France region. Residents of the region accounted for approximately 40% of COVID-19 deaths recorded in France since March 1, whether in hospitals or long-term care facilities.
The lockdown was followed by a sharp decline in Covid-19-related healthcare utilization, first observed in outpatient settings during week 14, from March 30 to April 5, and then in hospitals starting April 7, which continued through week 24, from June 8 to 14, five weeks after the lockdown was lifted. This downward trend came to a halt in week 26. Between weeks 27 and 30, the majority of regional epidemiological indicators showed a trend toward increased viral circulation in Île-de-France.

What is new in this update for the region?

In week 31 (July 27 to August 2), incidence rates and the proportion of positive cases among those tested showed an acceleration in their increase across the entire region. The faster increase in the number of positive cases compared to the number of people tested supports the notion of increased viral circulation in Île-de-France.
Incidence rates rose sharply in Week 31 in Paris (the highest rate) and in the inner suburbs, where the alert threshold of 20 cases per 100,000 inhabitants was exceeded. In the outer suburbs, Val-d’Oise had already exceeded this threshold in Week 30.
For the past two weeks, both the incidence and the positivity rate have peaked in the 20–40 age group. This limits the incidence of severe cases, which occur primarily among older adults (80% of hospitalizations and 90% of deaths involve people aged 60 and older).
Although indicators of emergency care use and hospitalizations have not increased significantly, community transmission—as evidenced by the rise in the incidence rate, positivity rate, and number of new clusters—highlights the need to step up prevention and promote barrier measures.

Keep up the effort and don’t let your guard down! Everyone’s commitment to following barrier measures remains, at this time, the best way to reduce viral transmission.

This approach to risk reduction is all the more evident given that the summer season is associated with significant population movement and mixing, and is often accompanied by a desire to relax, resulting in reduced adherence to distancing measures.