Summary

In Week 15 (April 12–18, 2021), the number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations following such visits decreased among children under 15 years of age (-10%, or -6,999 visits, and -7%, or -560 hospitalizations) and remained stable among adults aged 15 and older (+0.04%, or +111 visits, and -0.5%, or -260 hospitalizations).

In Week 15, visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups and their share of total activity are down (11,300 vs. 12,564 visits in Week 14, a decrease of 10%, and 4.4% vs. 4.8% in Week 14). This decline is more pronounced among children (-28%, or -63 visits) than among adults (-10%, or -1,200 visits). Suspected COVID-19 is the third most common diagnosis among adults aged 15 and older. The proportion of hospitalizations following a visit across all age groups remains stable at 56%. At the regional level, visits for suspected COVID-19 are stable or declining in all regions. Since the start of surveillance on February 24, 2020, 455,473 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

In the context of school closures, all non-specific and seasonal indicators are declining among children and, to a lesser extent, among adults. The few increases observed are for trauma among children (+8%, or +1,458 visits) and those aged 75 and older (+7%, or +515 visits), and for general malaise (+6%, or +167 visits) among those aged 75 and older. Finally, there was an increase in neurological disorders among those aged 2–14 and 15–74 (+6%, or 374 visits).