Key points

In week 20, circulation of Sars-CoV-2 continued to decrease and hospital admissions dropped at national level. However, virological indicators remained very high in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Continued decrease in virological indicators throughout the country

  • Hospital admission rate down across all regions, stable in Corsica

• Overseas France:

  • Virological indicators still very high and rising slightly in Martinique

  • Incidence rate still high in Guadeloupe despite a slight fall

Variants

• The Omicron BA.2 sub-lineage is dominant: accounting for 97.4% of interpretable sequences in the week 19 Flash Survey (9 May)

• Rise in BA.4 and BA.5 detected in the latest Flash Surveys, but still at low levels at this stage

Prevention

• Vaccination on 23 May 2022 (Vaccin Covid data):

  • Vaccination coverage for the booster shot reached 74.2% among adults over 18 years of age (84.1% in the 65+ age group).

  • Only 34.1% of 60-79 year-olds and 26.9% of those aged 80 and over eligible for the second booster shot have actually received it.

• The still active circulation SARS-CoV-2 requires appropriate prevention measures, particularly to protect the most vulnerable, hence the importance of continuing the following:

  • self-isolating in the event of symptoms or a positive test for COVID-19;

  • taking individual precautions such as mask-wearing (around high-risk people and in crowded indoor places or large gatherings), hand-washing and frequent ventilation of enclosed spaces.