Summary

In Week 47 (November 16–22, 2020), emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalizations remained stable across all age groups except among 2- to 14-year-olds (up 5.3%, or 2,082 visits, and up 3.8%, or 129 hospitalizations, respectively).

In Week 47, following four weeks of increases and stabilization in Week 45, visits for suspected COVID-19 declined by 37% (a decrease of 4,414 visits) for the second consecutive week, and this decline accelerated (18% in Week 46). This decline affects all age groups: those under 15 (-44%, or -109 visits), those aged 15–74 (-39%, or -3,063 visits), and those aged 75 and older (-33%, or -1,242 visits). In Week 47, suspected COVID-19 was the fourth most common diagnosis among adults (vs. second in Week 46). A total of 7,540 visits were recorded in Week 47 (vs. 11,954 visits in Week 46—consolidated data as of 11/24/2020). The share of visits for COVID-19 in total activity has fallen to 3.5% (vs. 5.5% in W46), and the proportion of hospitalizations following a visit across all age groups remains stable at 57%. The decline is observed across all regions except French Guiana and Mayotte (stable). In mainland France, the decline is most pronounced in Brittany (-46%), Occitanie (-45%), Pays de la Loire and Corsica (-42%), Hauts-de-France (-39%), and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and PACA (-38%). In the overseas territories, a 63% decrease was recorded in Guadeloupe. Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 289,526 emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Among children under 2 years of age, there has been an increase in visits for asthma and bronchiolitis of approximately +20%, though the numbers remain very low. Among children aged 2–14, there has been an increase in visits for trauma (7%, or 1,106 more visits), neurological disorders (+19%, or 103 more visits), and general malaise (+11%, or 37 more visits). Among those aged 75 and older, there was an increase in visits for trauma (+9%, or 631 more visits), stroke (+10%, or 126 more visits), and abdominal pain (+9%, or 120 more visits). Among those aged 15–74, all these conditions remained stable or decreased.