Summary

In week 44 (October 26–November 1, 2020), emergency department visits and hospitalizations following such visits decreased across all age groups (down 11%, or 35,293 visits, and down 4.5%, or 3,051 hospitalizations, for all ages, respectively). In week 44, an increase in visits due to suspected COVID-19 was observed across all age groups. Among adults, this trend continued for the fourth consecutive week: 5,742 visits in Week 41, 7,826 in Week 42 (a 36% increase), 11,472 in Week 43 (a 47% increase), and 14,677 in Week 44 (a 28% increase). The increases are even more significant among older age groups: 65–74 years old (+35%), 75 years and older (+29%), 45–64 years old (+24%), and 15–44 years old (+15%). This week, suspected COVID-19 moved from third to second place among the most frequent diagnoses in adults. In total, 14,902 visits were recorded in week 44 (vs. 11,619 visits in week 43—consolidated data as of November 3, 2020). The share of visits for COVID-19 in total activity and the proportion of hospitalizations following a visit across all age groups are also on the rise (7% and 49% vs. 5% and 46% in week 43). All metropolitan regions are contributing to this increase. The sharpest increases are observed in Centre-Val de Loire (+71%), Grand-Est (+69%), Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (+58%), Pays de la Loire (+57%), and Brittany (+40%). Three regions account for just over half of all visits (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Île-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). With the exception of French Guiana (up slightly from a low baseline, with +14 visits), the overseas regions are stable or declining. Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 254,893 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. Among other conditions, the only notable increase is in gastroenteritis among children (+9%, or +79 visits).