Key Points

In week 47 (November 22–28, 2021), emergency department visits increased among children, with a more pronounced rise among children under 2 years of age (+17%, or 4,848 visits) than among those aged 2–14 (+4%, or 2,791 visits). Hospitalizations following visits increased only among children under 2 years of age (+22%, or 959 hospitalizations).

Visits due to suspected COVID-19 across all age groups continued to rise for the sixth consecutive week (4,655 vs. 3,143 visits in Week 46, +48%). This increase is observed across all age groups. The share of activity is also rising (1.5% vs. 1% in Week 46), while the proportion of hospitalizations following visits remains stable at 52%. At the regional level, visits are rising in all regions except Corsica, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Mayotte. The sharpest increases are observed in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+71%, or +279 visits), Grand-Est (+87%, or +204 visits), Île-de-France (+43%, or +246 visits), and PACA (+56%, or +224 visits). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 581,654 emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Seasonal indicators are on the rise again, primarily among children. Specifically, increases were observed for bronchiolitis (+39%, or +1,465 visits) and asthma (+18%, or +161 visits) among children under 2 years of age, ENT conditions (+27%, or +3,324 visits), acute bronchitis (+22%, or +137 visits) and pneumonia (+26%, or +210 visits) among children under 15, influenza/flu-like illness (+28%, or +134 visits) across all age groups, as well as for gastroenteritis (+13%, or +645 visits among children, at levels significantly higher than in previous years).

Among other indicators, increases were observed for isolated fever (+18%, or +767 visits) across all ages, cough (+24%, or +293 visits), malaise (+18%, or +126 visits), and conjunctivitis (+29%, or +167 visits) among those under 15, dyspnea/respiratory failure among those aged 75 and older (+10%, or 161 visits).