Key Points

In Week 22 (June 31–July 6, 2021), all epidemiological indicators of SARS-CoV-2 circulation continued to decline in Île-de-France. However, these indicators remained at high levels compared to other regions and were still higher than national levels. Although pressure on hospitals was easing as hospital indicators declined, it remained high amid the lifting of public health restrictions and incomplete vaccination coverage.

In Île-de-France, the regional incidence rate for week 22 fell by 37% compared to the incidence rate for the previous week. The positivity rate also continued to decline. Despite the decline in the incidence rate and positivity rate in Île-de-France (and in all Île-de-France departments), these remained high compared to other regions.

Visits to primary care for “suspected COVID-19” and visits to emergency care continued to decline in Week 22, as did the number of new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients, new admissions to critical care units, and deaths of hospitalized COVID-19 patients, remaining at levels lower than those observed between the second and third waves of the epidemic. These hospital indicators, however, remained among the highest in mainland France and must be monitored with the utmost attention in the coming weeks. The number of deaths from all causes and across all age groups, which remained elevated for 16 consecutive weeks between Week 3 of 2021 and Week 18 of 2021, had ceased to be elevated as of Week 19.

At the same time, vaccination coverage in Île-de-France continued to rise, particularly among those aged 18–49. However, the vaccination coverage rate among older adults, though high, was increasing only very slightly. It is therefore important to encourage vaccination for all individuals aged 18 and older, with specific measures to reach older adults in order to achieve a sufficient level of herd immunity.

Although epidemiological indicators continued to decline in S22, confirming the slowdown in viral circulation, the latter remained high in Île-de-France compared to other metropolitan regions. Thus, in the context of the lifting of collective restriction measures and incomplete vaccination coverage, it is essential to maintain a high level of adherence to individual prevention measures, testing, and isolation of cases and at-risk contacts.