Key Points

In week 32 (August 3–9, 2020), total activity at SOS Médecins clinics decreased among children (-7%, or 850 fewer procedures) and increased among those aged 75 and older (+7%, or 590 more procedures). Over the past week, medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 decreased by 8%,
marking the third consecutive week of decline after four weeks of increases. In total, 1,858 cases were recorded in week 32 (vs. 2,015 cases in week 31, a decrease of 157 cases). This decline applies to all age groups except those aged 75 and older. The share of cases across all ages remains stable at 3%. The number of procedures is on the rise in Corsica (23 vs. 9 procedures in Week 31), Normandy (103 vs. 76 procedures in Week 31), Pays de la Loire (118 vs. 102 procedures in Week 31), and Occitanie (75 vs. 68 procedures in Week 31). A decrease is observed in the other regions, ranging from -83% in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté to -1% in Brittany. The regions of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Île-de-France, and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes account for the highest number of tests (19%, 18%, and 12% of tests recorded nationally, respectively). Since the start of surveillance, 72,395 medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 have been performed. Among other conditions and in connection with the temperature increases observed over the weekend, there was an increase in procedures for heat-related illness among those under 75 years of age (+11%, or +25 procedures) and for dehydration among those 75 years and older (+49%, or +46 procedures). There was also an increase in cases related to insect bites among those aged 15–74 (+13%, or +103 cases), asthma among those aged 15 and older (+6%, or +14 cases), and trauma among those aged 75 and older (+10%, or +57 cases). Finally, there were increases in procedures for gastroenteritis (+22%) and diarrhea (+17%) among those under 15, for various dental/ENT issues among those over 15 (+12%), and for low back pain/sciatica (+16%), various cardiac conditions (+15%), falls (+10%), and anxiety (+6%) among those aged 75 and older.