Key Points

In Week 36 (September 6–12, 2021), the first week after the start of the school year, emergency department visits and subsequent hospitalizations increased among children (+23%, or +14,968 visits) and adults under 75 (+6%, or +13,404 visits). Visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups are down for the fourth consecutive week (-26% vs. -21% in Week 35). In total, there were 3,291 visits (vs. 4,469 in Week 35, a decrease of 1,178 visits) with a declining share of activity (1% vs. 1.5% in Week 35). This decline is observed across all age groups. Among children under 2 years of age, the decline is -30% (vs. -28% in Week 35), and the hospitalization rate is slightly higher (30% vs. 24% in Week 35). The proportion of hospitalizations following visits across all age groups remains stable at 48%. At the regional level, emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 are down in all regions except French Guiana (+42%, or +35 visits) and Mayotte (+133%, or +4 visits). Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 553,883 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. Among children, one week after the start of the school year, most indicators are on the rise, particularly for asthma (+152%, or +1,147 visits) and ENT conditions (+44%), and, only among children under 2 years of age, chickenpox (+54%, or 20 visits). Bronchiolitis is up 21% among children under 2. Among adults, there has been an increase in visits for renal colic (+13%).