Summary

In Week 13 (March 23–29, 2020), emergency room visits and hospitalizations following visits continued to decline among children (down 29% and 25%, respectively). Among adults, visits have stabilized at an average of 29,000 per day, while hospitalizations following visits have increased by 12%, or 5,992 hospitalizations.

Over the past week, 31,615 visits across all age groups for suspected COVID-19 were recorded, representing 20% of total activity. These visits have increased by more than 90%, or 14,633 visits. Among adults, they represent the leading diagnosis in emergency departments, with an increase ranging from 68% (among those aged 15–44) to 130% (among those aged 65–74). Nearly 41% of these visits were followed by hospitalization (12,799 hospitalizations), representing an increase of more than 115% (+6,950 hospitalizations) compared to the previous week. Of these hospitalizations, 550 were in the ICU (4%). Regionally, the majority of visits were observed in Île-de-France (36%), Grand-Est (13%), and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (11%). Since the start of surveillance, 56,831 visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Among the 10 most common conditions, there was an increase in visits for chest pain (+12%) and dyspnea/respiratory failure (+29%) among adults, for anxiety disorders (+13%) among those aged 15–44, and for cough (+10%) among those aged 45–64. Finally, visits for stroke remained stable among those aged 65 and older, while trauma cases decreased across all age groups.