Summary

In Week 1 (January 4–10, 2021), the week schools reopened, total activity at SOS Médecins clinics increased among children aged 2–14 (+6%, or 590 more visits) and decreased among adults (-6%, or 2,926 fewer visits) and children under 2 (-24%, or 1,261 fewer visits).

Following a 16% increase in Week 53, medical visits for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups continued to rise, with 2,750 visits recorded (vs. 2,417 visits in Week 53, or a 14% increase) and a share of total activity across all age groups of 4.6% (vs. 3.8% in Week 53). This increase applies to those aged 15–74 (+25%, or +323 cases) and those under 15 (+73%, or +116 visits, including +109 among those aged 2–14). Suspected COVID-19 is the 8th most common diagnosis among those aged 2–14 and the 4th most common among those aged 15–74. Medical visits for suspected COVID-19 are on the rise in all regions except Centre-Val-de-Loire, Grand-Est, and PACA. The largest increases are observed in Normandy (+67%, or +82 visits), Pays de Loire (+44%, or +45 visits), Île-de-France (+27%, or +95 procedures), Hauts-de-France (+22%, or +51 procedures), and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+20%, or +63 procedures). Since monitoring began, 165,495 procedures for suspected COVID-19 have been performed.

Among seasonal illnesses, one week after the start of the school year, an increase in visits for vomiting (respectively: +26% or +73 visits and +55% or +111 visits) and gastroenteritis (respectively: +24% or +439 visits and +55% or +445 visits) was observed among children and adults aged 15–74. However, the increase in respiratory conditions observed in week 53 did not continue last week.

Among the most common conditions, we also note, for those aged 2–14 and 15–74, an increase in cases of abdominal pain (respectively: +81%, or +211 cases, and +10%, or +140 cases). Also notable among children is the increase in procedures for isolated fever (+21%, or +67 procedures) and trauma (+65%, or +197 procedures), with the latter accounting for nearly three times the activity seen in previous years.