The outbreak continues at a very high level

Following an increase in Week 03, virological indicators remain at very high levels in Week 04: 143,325 new confirmed cases were recorded compared to 141,732, representing a 1% increase. People aged 75 and older remain the most affected by SARS-CoV-2, although the number of confirmed cases in this age group has been stable for the past two weeks.

In week 04, the number of new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients remained stable, at 11,117 compared to 11,155 in week 03. However, there was a 6% increase in the number of new ICU admissions, with 1,800 in week 04 compared to 1,706 in week 03.

Hospital deaths continue to rise (+5%) compared to the previous week, but to a lesser extent than the increase observed between weeks 02 and 03 (+21%).

Regional disparities persist; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Île-de-France, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, and Grand Est were the hardest-hit regions in Week 04, with the highest incidence rates, as well as some of the highest hospitalization rates in mainland France.

Suspected variants in 14% of positive RT-PCR tests screened on January 27

The emergence of more contagious SARS-CoV-2 variants has led the CNR Virus des infections respiratoires (Lyon Associated Laboratory) and Santé publique France, in collaboration with the ANRS Maladies Infectieuses Emergentes, to implement repeated surveys to map their circulation across the country.

Survey Flash#2 was conducted on January 27, 2021, on SARS-CoV-2-positive RT-PCR tests from 144 public and private clinical laboratories. It consists initially of screening positive tests to identify suspected variants, followed by sequencing to confirm the suspicion and characterize the variant.

The following preliminary results cover 123 laboratories that had submitted their screening results by February 3, 2021, at 1:00 p.m.; they show that among the cases diagnosed on January 27, 2021:

• 14.0% of these cases are suspected to be the 20I/501Y.V1 (UK) variant, based on data from 78 laboratories using Thermo Fisher Screening (TFS) technology

• 14.6% are suspected to be variants 20I/501Y.V1 (UK), 20H/501Y.V2 (ZA), or 20J/501Y.V3 (BR) among 45 laboratories using specific RT-PCR screening to detect the N501Y mutation.

“The preliminary results of this second Flash survey, made possible by the strong mobilization of public and private clinical laboratories, already confirm the expected increase in the circulation of variants, as well as a heterogeneous situation across regions. “Once the results of the ongoing sequencing are available, we will be able to refine this mapping and determine the level of circulation of each of the variants that are currently driving the strengthening of the Test-Alert-Protect strategy,” explains Bruno Coignard, Director of Infectious Diseases at Santé publique France.

The final results of this Flash#2 survey will be released as soon as all sequencing results have been validated and submitted. These preliminary results are difficult to compare with those of the Flash#1 survey, but they confirm the regional heterogeneity of the spread of these variants and an increase in their prevalence across all regions for which the results are interpretable.

Vaccination coverage in nursing homes (Ehpad) or long-term care facilities (USLD): nearly 6 out of 10 residents have received one dose

Data from Vaccin COVID allow for tracking the rollout of the vaccination campaign among priority groups: as of February 2, 2021, 1,615,088 people had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in France, representing 2.4% of the French population.

Since February 2, 2021, Santé publique France has made available on the Géodes platform a new indicator to track vaccination among residents in nursing homes (Ehpad) or long-term care units (USLD). As of that same date, 358,093 residents in nursing homes or long-term care units (USLD)—representing 57.1% of nursing home and USLD residents—had received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in France.