Key Points

• The first three confirmed cases were identified on February 26, 2020.

• From March 2020 to May 2021, three successive waves of the epidemic were observed in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

  • The region was among the four regions most affected by the first wave (March–July 2020), along with the regions of Île-de-France, Grand Est, and Hauts-de-France.

  • During the ^second and third waves, the intensity remained at a high level for a long period compared to the first wave.

• Excess mortality at the regional level during the three waves: +23% during the first wave (after Île-de-France and Grand-Est) and +30% during the second wave after Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and finally a lower excess during the third wave (+12%).

• Differing trends across departments:

  • Doubs, Jura, Yonne, and Saône-et-Loire had a median incidence rate exceeding 150 per 105 inhabitants during the second wave (ranging from 203 to 177, respectively),

  • Median incidence rates increased between the second and third waves (except in Saône-et-Loire and Yonne),

  • All departments had a median rate exceeding 150 per 105 inhabitants during the third wave (ranging from 155 in Saône-et-Loire to 225 in Jura).

• Each lockdown period was followed by a decline in virological indicators and a decrease in hospital admission rates.

• Improvement in indicators among residents of long-term care facilities and among those aged 75 and older starting in February 2021.