Summary

In Week 41 (October 5–11, 2020), emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalizations rose slightly among children (+4.9%, or +3,161 visits, and +11%, or +687 hospitalizations, respectively) and remained stable among adults. Over the past week, the number of visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups increased by 23% (5,820 vs. 4,735 visits in Week 40—consolidated data as of October 13, 2020). This increase is driven exclusively by adults (+24%, or 1,092 visits). Among children, this number has decreased slightly (-5%). The share of visits for COVID-19 in total activity and the proportion of hospitalizations following a visit across all age groups remain stable (41% and 2.2%, respectively). Almost all regions contributed to this increase, with rises ranging from +49% to +10% in the Hauts-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, PACA, Grand-Est, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Centre-Val de Loire, Île-de-France, Occitanie, Normandy, and Brittany regions. Seven regions are stable or declining, with two of them standing out due to a more pronounced decline: Guadeloupe (-33%) and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (-10%). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 220,144 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. Among other conditions, there has been an increase in visits for respiratory conditions, with numbers comparable to those observed in the previous two years. There was also an increase in visits for fever alone across all age groups (+8%, or 239 more visits). Among children, there was an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms, burns among children under 2 years of age, and neurological disorders among children aged 2–14.