Key Points

In week 36 (September 5–11, 2022), emergency room visits and subsequent hospitalizations increased among children (up 15% and 17%, respectively, representing 10,192 visits and 1,066 hospitalizations), while remaining stable among adults.

In connection with the start of the school year, several indicators are on the rise among children. Notable is a very sharp increase in visits for asthma attacks among those under 15 (+169%, or +1,349 visits, with visits nearly tripling among 2- to 14-year-olds: 2,145 in Week 36 vs. 796 in Week 35). The increase in visits is more moderate for ENT infections (+31%, or +1,702 visits), trauma (+16.5%, or +3,550 visits), and painful gastrointestinal symptoms (+12.5% among 2- to 14-year-olds) with vomiting among children under 2 years old (+14%). Visits for bronchiolitis are up 44% among children under 2 years old. Regarding mental health, an increase in visits for suicidal behavior is observed among children under 15 years old (+34%, or +40 visits).

After seven consecutive weeks of decline, visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups are rising among 2- to 14-year-olds (+70%, or 60 additional visits), while remaining stable in other age groups. Hospitalizations following emergency department visits are declining among 2- to 14-year-olds. There were 1,863 visits for suspected COVID-19 (vs. 1,868 visits in Week 35), representing 0.59% of overall emergency department activity (vs. 0.61% in Week 35) and 35% of hospitalizations following a visit (vs. 37% in Week 35). Since the start of surveillance on February 24, 2020, 868,769 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded.