Key Points

In Week 31 (August 2–8, 2021), visits to emergency departments and subsequent hospitalizations declined across all age groups, with a more pronounced decrease among children (-11%, or 8,049 fewer visits, and -8%, or 527 fewer hospitalizations) than among adults (-3%, or 10,289 fewer visits, and -1%, or 9,899 fewer hospitalizations). Visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups continued to rise for the sixth consecutive week, though at a slower rate than in weeks 30 and 29 (+19% in week 31 vs. +47% in week 30 and +93% in week 29). In total, there were 6,704 visits (+1,055 visits), with the share of activity also on the rise (2.2% vs. 1.8% in Week 30). This increase was observed among children aged 2–14 (+22%, or +26 visits) and adults (+19%, or +1,037 visits). The proportion of hospitalizations following visits across all age groups has risen to 42% (vs. 39% in Week 30). At the regional level, emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 are down in Corsica, stable in Centre-Val-de-Loire, Normandy, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and up in the other regions. The sharpest increases were observed in Guadeloupe (+94%, or 198 visits), PACA (+28%, or 351 visits), and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+22%, or 152 visits). Since the start of surveillance on February 24, 2020, 522,135 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. All seasonal indicators are stable or declining across all age groups in S31, except for visits due to viral meningitis (+129%, or +9 visits among children), which are slightly lower than the level recorded in 2019.