Key Points

• In week 52 (December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023), the second week of school break, emergency room visits and hospitalizations following visits were down among children (down 19%, or 19,638 visits, and down 10%, or 961 hospitalizations, respectively) and remained stable in other age groups.

• Across all age groups, there was a decrease in visits for suspected COVID-19 (-27%, or 1,433 fewer visits) and, for the first week, for influenza/flu-like illness (-27%, or 5,102 fewer visits, with the exception of those aged 75 and older, where visits continued to rise by 16%).

• In line with school holidays, most indicators are stable or declining among children, with the exception of visits for trauma (+10%, or +1,107 visits) and abdominal pain (+13%, or +183 visits).

• Among adults of all ages, there was an increase in digestive indicators (acute gastroenteritis +54%, vomiting +22%, dehydration +9%), and visits for conjunctivitis (+31%). Respiratory indicators are generally stable or declining among adults aged 15 to 74 (except for pneumonia, up 20%), while among those over 75, visits for pneumonia (up 25%), influenza (up 16%), ENT conditions (up 15%), acute bronchitis (+13%), and asthma (+11%) continue to rise to high levels.

• Regarding mental health indicators, although levels remain low compared to previous years, suicidal acts are on the rise among those aged 15–64 (+19%, or +168 visits), with hospitalization rates following visits remaining stable.

• Finally, amid rising rates of both invasive and non-invasive Group A Streptococcus infections, after several weeks of increases, there has been a decline in visits for scarlet fever across all age groups (-46%, or -152 visits), though levels remain higher than in previous years.