Key Points

COVID-19

• In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission declined in Week 16, for the second consecutive week. However, the impact on the hospital system remained significant in the region. These trends must be closely monitored as activity resumes following the school break.

• In Week 16, the regional incidence rate fell below 1,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (842 per 100,000 inhabitants), representing a 27% decrease compared to Week 15. The testing rate showed a similar trend (-24%), linked to school holidays and the Easter long weekend. These decreases were observed relatively uniformly across all age groups, with the exception of those under 15, who had a particularly low incidence rate that was declining sharply but was associated with a rising positivity rate. A decrease in the positivity rate was also observed in S16. All departments in the region showed declining indicators and were at relatively consistent levels.

• In terms of healthcare utilization, SOS Médecins calls for suspected Covid-19 cases and the number of emergency room visits for the same reason were decreasing slightly to a moderate level in Week 16 compared to previous weeks. In hospitals, the number of new hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients at the regional level, the number of new admissions to intensive care, and the number of in-hospital deaths showed a recent downward trend in Week 16, to be reassessed after data consolidation.

• In ESMS, the number of new reported Covid-19 cases was significantly lower in Week 16

Influenza and influenza-like illness

• The Pays de la Loire region has been in an influenza epidemic phase since Week 09, marking the 8th consecutive week. Indicators of healthcare utilization for influenza-like illness (emergency department visits and SOS Médecins calls) were nevertheless decreasing in Week 16, for the second consecutive week, as were influenza A isolates reported by the Nantes and Angers university hospitals. This decrease applied to all age groups. A slowdown in reports of severe influenza cases hospitalized in critical care units, and in clusters of acute respiratory infections (other than COVID-19) reported by the region’s ESMS, was also observed in weeks 15 and 16. At the national level, a sharp decline in influenza indicators was also reported.

Acute Gastroenteritis

The decline in healthcare utilization for acute gastroenteritis continued in the region during weeks 15 and 16, both across all age groups and among children under 5 years of age.