Key Points

In Week 01 (January 3–9, 2022), emergency department visits declined across all age groups (down 8% among children, or 6,460 fewer visits, and down 6% among adults, or 16,648 fewer visits). Hospitalizations following visits are down among children under 2 years old (-21%, or 997 fewer hospitalizations).

Visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups continue to rise, though at a less pronounced rate than in Week 52 (16,685 vs. 14,419 in Week 52, or +16% in Week 1 vs. +49% in Week 52) and have surpassed the peak of the second wave. The share of activity continues to rise (5.8% vs. 4.8% in Week 52), and the proportion of hospitalizations following visits remains stable at 34% (35% in Week 52). The increases apply to all age groups: +28% among children under 2, +59% among 2- to 14-year-olds, and +13% among those 15 and older. Among adults, COVID-19 remains the second (ages 15–74) and third (ages 75 and older) most common condition in emergency departments, but only the eighth most common among children. At the regional level, emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 are on the rise in all regions except PACA (stable). The sharpest increases are observed in Hauts-de-France (+47%), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (+24%), Centre-Val de Loire (+21%), and Pays de la Loire (+21%). In the overseas territories, an increase in visits is observed in French Guiana (+83%), Guadeloupe (+48%), and Réunion (+45%). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 645,946 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Seasonal indicators are declining among both adults and children during this back-to-school week. Notable trends include a decrease in visits for influenza/flu-like illness across all age groups (-33% across all ages, or -832 visits) and a continued decline in visits for bronchiolitis among children under 2 years of age (-42%, or -545 visits). Among other indicators, there was an increase in visits for abdominal pain (+43%, or +759 visits) among 2- to 14-year-olds and for chest pain (+11%, or +1,191 visits) among adults aged 15 and older.