Key Points

In Week 17 (April 25–May 1, 2022), emergency department visits and hospitalizations following emergency department visits decreased among children under 2 years of age (-7%, or 6,057 fewer visits, and -14%, or 421 fewer hospitalizations). For other age groups, visits and hospitalizations remained stable.

For the second consecutive week, Week 17 saw a decrease in visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups (4,196 vs. 6,332 visits, or -31% vs. -22% in Week 16). The share of activity is slightly down (1.4% vs. 1.9% in Week 16) and the proportion of hospitalizations is slightly up (44% vs. 42% in Week 16). COVID-19 remains the 5th most common condition in emergency departments among those aged 75 and older, and the 8th most common among children under 2 years of age. At the regional level, emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 are declining in all regions except Mayotte (stable). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 784,949 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Among other indicators, the following trends are observed across all age groups:

• a sharp decline in visits for influenza/flu-like illness (-54% across all ages, or -2,203 visits), which nevertheless remain at a high level for the season;

• a decline in most other indicators (seasonal and most common conditions), more pronounced among children due to school holidays. Emergency department visits for chickenpox are down among children (-16%, or -120 visits) but remain at higher levels than in previous years (children and adults).

Visits for trauma are on the rise among 2- to 14-year-olds (+14%, or 2,890 visits).