Summary

In week 42 (October 12–18, 2020), overall activity at SOS Médecins clinics remained stable among both children and adults. In week 42, following three weeks of decline followed by stabilization, medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 continued to decline slightly among children (-5%, or 32 fewer procedures compared to week 40). In contrast, among adults, following a week of increase in Week 41, the rise continued and intensified: 4,111 procedures in Week 40, 4,599 in Week 41 (a 12% increase), and 5,431 procedures in Week 42 (an 18% increase). This increase is particularly pronounced among adults aged 45–74 (+35%, or +392 cases—data not shown) and those aged 75 and older (+25.5%, or +54 cases), in contrast to those aged 15–44 (+12%, or +386 cases). In total, 6,082 procedures were recorded in week 42 (vs. 5,288 procedures in week 41, or +15% and +794 procedures). The share of total activity across all age groups rose slightly to 9.3% (vs. 8% in week 41). This increase was seen across nearly all regions: Corsica (+167%), Centre-Val de Loire (+47%), Burgundy-Franche-Comté (+42%), Hauts-de-France (+28%), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (+23%), Occitanie (+19%), Normandy (+14%), Île-de-France (+12%), and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (+9%). The other regions are stable or declining. Since the start of surveillance, 120,062 procedures for suspected COVID-19 have been performed. Among other conditions, there has been an increase in procedures for respiratory conditions, with numbers comparable to those observed in the previous two years. For the first week, there was a marked increase in procedures for influenza/influenza-like illness among adults (+41.6%, or +899 procedures, including 89 among those aged 15–74). Procedures for isolated fever continue to rise among children aged 2–14 (+13%, or +37 procedures), with activity exceeding that of the previous two years. In addition, there was an increase in cases of allergies among children (+15%, or +63 cases, including +44 cases among those under 2 years of age) and in cases of cardiac disorders (+10.1%, or +22 cases) and deaths (+9.5%, or +33 cases) among people aged 75 and older.