Summary

In week 32 (August 3–9, 2020), emergency department visits remained stable across all age groups, while hospitalizations following visits decreased among those under 15 years of age (down 7%, or 422 hospitalizations) and remained stable among those 15 years of age and older. Over the past week, the number of visits across all age groups for suspected COVID-19 increased by 9% compared to the previous week (2,019 vs. 1,860 visits in Week 31—consolidated data as of August 11, 2020). This increase applies to those aged 15–74 (+9%) and adults aged 75 and older (+17%), while the number of visits has decreased among children under 15 (-21%). The share of visits for COVID-19 in total activity across all age groups, as well as the proportion of hospitalizations following visits, remain stable at 0.71% and 33%, respectively (vs. 0.65% and 33% in Week 31 – consolidated data as of August 11, 2020). An increase is observed in several regions, such as Île-de-France (702 vs. 574 visits in S31), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (152 visits vs. 97 in S31), Occitanie (107 visits vs. 75 in S31), and Centre-Val de Loire (68 visits vs. 50 in S31). Regionally, of all visits for suspected COVID-19, 35% were recorded in Île-de-France, 9% in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 8% in Pays de la Loire, 8% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, and 7% in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 180,923 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. Among other conditions seen in emergency departments, linked to rising temperatures, there has been an increase in visits for hyperthermia and heatstroke across all age groups (+17%, or +57 visits) and for dehydration among those over 15 years of age (+18%, or +82 visits). There was also an increase in visits for insect bites across all age groups (+14%, or +425 visits), for gastroenteritis in those under 15 (+40%, or +444 visits), for allergies (+8%, or 193 more visits) among those aged 15 and older, and for asthma among those aged 15–74 (+11%, or 70 more visits).