Key Points

In Week 50 (December 13–19, 2021), emergency department visits and hospitalizations following such visits remained stable across all age groups for the second consecutive week.

Visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups remained stable for the first time after seven consecutive weeks of increases (7,826 vs. 7,678 visits in Week 49, +2%). By age, an increase was observed only among those under 15 years old (+7%, or +31 visits). The share of activity is also stable (2.5% vs. 2.4% in Week 49), as is the proportion of hospitalizations following visits (49% vs. 50% in Week 49). Among adults, COVID-19 remains the 6th (ages 15–74) and 7th (ages 75 and older) most common condition in emergency departments. Visits are on the rise in four metropolitan regions: Corsica (+33%, or +18 visits), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (+23%, or +251 visits), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+7%, or +86 visits), and Île-de-France (+6%, or +82 visits). In the overseas territories, there has been an increase in visits in Réunion (+46%, or +44 visits) as well as small increases in Guadeloupe and Mayotte. Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 603,971 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Seasonal indicators remain stable or are declining for both adults and children, with the exception of influenza/flu-like illness across all age groups (+58%, or +715 visits). The levels reached are returning to expected values, except for those related to ENT conditions, influenza/influenza-like illness, gastroenteritis, and conjunctivitis in children. There are also increases in isolated fever (+9%, or +445 visits) among children and, to a lesser extent, asthma (+5%, or +46 visits) among children under 2 years of age.