Key Points

In Week 40, SARS-CoV-2 transmission continued to increase across the entire metropolitan area, and the rise in hospital admissions continued.

• Mainland France:

  • Incidence rate above 500 per 100,000 inhabitants nationwide

  • Increase in incidence rate increasingly pronounced among older adults

  • Incidence rate stable among 0-9-year-olds and declining again among 10-19-year-olds

  • Number of deaths on the rise

• Overseas territories:

  • Incidence rates are declining or stable at low levels across all territories

Variants

• Omicron sublineages: BA.5 ubiquitous, accounting for 89% of sequences in the Flash S39 survey (09/26)

Prevention

• Vaccination as of October 10, 2022 (Covid Vaccine data):

  • 74.4% of those aged 18 and older, as well as 82.5% of those aged 65 and older, had received their first booster dose

  • 30.4% of those aged 60–79 (35.9% of those eligible based on the time since their last injection) and 37.7% of those aged 80 and older (49.3% of those eligible) had received their second booster dose

• Given the high circulation of SARS-CoV-2, adherence to combined measures remains essential:

  • up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination, particularly by receiving a booster dose with a bivalent vaccine (against the original strain and the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2) for those eligible who have received their primary series;

  • isolation in the event of a positive COVID-19 test and/or symptoms;

  • continued adherence to preventive measures: wearing a mask, particularly in the presence of vulnerable individuals or in crowded indoor spaces (including public transportation) or during large gatherings, as well as handwashing and ventilating enclosed spaces.