Summary

In week 39 (September 21–27, 2020), emergency department visits declined across all age groups (-16%, or 13,578 fewer visits among children, and -8%, or 23,102 fewer visits among adults). Hospitalizations following visits also decreased, but at a more moderate rate (-14%, or 1,028 fewer hospitalizations among children, and -4%, or 2,241 fewer hospitalizations among adults). Over the past week, the number of visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups has decreased by 23% (5,101 vs. 6,669 visits in Week 38—consolidated data as of September 29, 2020). This decline is more pronounced among children than adults (-51%, or 196 visits, vs. -22%, or 1,372 visits, respectively). The proportion of visits for COVID-19 out of total activity across all age groups is also down (1.8% in Week 39 vs. 2.2% in Week 38). Conversely, the proportion of hospitalizations following a visit is on the rise (38% in Week 39 vs. 32% in Week 38). The decline in visits is observed in nearly all regions with the exception of Brittany (+164%, or +195 visits). The declines range from -43% to -37% for the regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand-Est, and Pays de la Loire, and from -30% to -17% for the regions of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Ile-de-France Centre, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Hauts-de-France, and Occitanie. Since monitoring began on February 24, 2020, 209,566 emergency department visits for suspected COVID-19 have been recorded. Among other conditions, most indicators are declining across all age groups. Notable increases were observed in visits involving small numbers of cases for burns among children under 2 years old (+25%, or +31 visits), foreign bodies among 2- to 14-year-olds (+10%, or +53 visits), and strokes among those aged 75 and older (+9%, or +105 visits).