Key Points

• Between June 1 and August 4, 2020, 596 emergency room visits due to drowning in France were recorded in the OSCOUR® surveillance network. This number is down 22% compared to the average number of visits in 2018 (811 emergency room visits for drowning) and in 2019 (723 emergency room visits for drowning) for the same period. In June, this number was down 27%, and in July, 18%. There are multiple factors contributing to this decline.

  • Until June 22, the closure of public and private paid swimming pools (municipal pools, recreational centers, amusement parks) and private pools for group use (hotels, vacation resorts, campgrounds, vacation clubs), along with restricted access to certain beaches, reduced swimming activity and thus the risk of drowning;

  • in July, the decline in tourist numbers in certain regions, particularly among foreign tourists, also had an impact on swimming;

  • weather conditions (temperatures, sunshine, rainfall) were generally less favorable in June and early July 2020 compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019, despite a heatwave in late June 2020.This latter hypothesis will need to be confirmed through continued monitoring, particularly in light of the heatwave forecast to begin on August 6, which is expected to affect a large part of France.

• The daily variability in emergency room visits due to drowning in France, with peaks on weekends, was generally similar in June 2020 compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019. The differences are more pronounced in July 2020 compared to 2018 and 2019.

• Between June 1 and August 4, 2020, 47% of emergency room visits for drowning in France involved children under 6 years of age, and 12% involved those aged 65 and older. This age distribution of emergency room visits for drowning remains generally similar to that observed in 2018 and 2019 during the same period.

• The overall decline in emergency room visits for drowning between June 1 and July 14, 2020, compared to the same periods in 2018 and 2019, applies to all regions except Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Corsica, Hauts-de-France, Pays-de-la-Loire, and to a lesser extent, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, where the decline in the number of emergency room visits for drowning is less pronounced. Nevertheless, coastal regions remain those with the highest number of emergency room visits for drowning during this period.