Summary

In week 42 (October 18–24, 2021), emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalizations increased among children under 2 years of age (up 6%, or 1,772 visits, and up 7%, or 299 hospitalizations, respectively); they remained stable or declined in other age groups.

After several weeks of decline and one week of stabilization, visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups are up slightly (1,470 visits vs. 1,388 in Week 41, +6% or +82 visits). The share of activity remains stable at 0.4%, as does the proportion of hospitalizations following visits across all age groups (50% vs. 49% in Week 41). The number of visits is rising, with moderate increases among those aged 15–74 (+3%) and those aged 75 and older (+18%), while remaining stable among children. At the regional level, six regions saw moderate increases: Île-de-France (+13%, or +43 visits), Grand Est (+35%, or +28 visits), Hauts-de-France (+39%, or 29 visits), Nouvelle-Aquitaine (+31%, or +28 visits), Pays de la Loire (+30%, or +20 visits), and Normandy (+39%, or 12 visits). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 567,405 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.

Seasonal respiratory indicators continue to rise for influenza/influenza-like illness (+20%, or 57 visits) and pneumonia (+8%, or 288 visits) across all age groups, as well as for bronchiolitis (+28%, or 640 visits; hospitalizations following visits remain stable) among children under 2 years of age. The levels observed for respiratory indicators are higher than in the previous three years (except for influenza, which is comparable), particularly among children. Visits for gastroenteritis are also on the rise among children (+12%, or +506 visits), at levels higher than in previous years. Finally, there were increases in cases of general malaise among children under 2 years of age (+9%), conjunctivitis (+16%), and cough (+15%) among children under 15 years of age, as well as chest pain (+12%) among those aged 75 and older.