Key Points

In Week 45 (November 2–8, 2026), the number of emergency department visits and hospitalizations following such visits increased among children aged 2–14 (+22%, or +10,628 visits, and +14%, or 650 more hospitalizations) in connection with the start of the school year; they were down among children under 2 years of age and remained stable among adults compared to the previous week.

Notable for the past week was the increase in emergency department visits among children aged 2–14 for:

• Trauma (+28%, or +4,531 visits),
• Respiratory conditions: asthma attacks (+20%, or +230 visits), influenza/flu-like illness (+38%, or +102 visits), at a level comparable to previous years, and suspected COVID-19 among children under 15 (+14%, or +23 visits), at a level higher than in the previous two years.
• Digestive conditions: abdominal pain (+35%, or +1,086 visits), vomiting in children under 15 (+19%, or +263 visits), and gastroenteritis (+6%, or +79 visits).
• Neurological conditions (headaches/migraines/epilepsy) (+29%, or +225 visits), malaise (+38%, or +153 visits), and isolated fever (+8%, or +86 visits),
• scarlet fever (+75%, or +40 visits), with levels comparable to previous years.

There was also an increase in visits for self-harm among children (+51%, or +71 visits) and those aged 15–44 (+9%, or +78 visits), at levels comparable to previous years (and even lower among adults).