Key Points

COVID-19

• In the Pays de la Loire region, a slowdown in the decline of SARS-CoV-2 transmission was observed in week 38.

• In S38, the regional incidence rate was slightly lower, remaining below the threshold of 50 per 100,000 inhabitants, while the positivity rate stabilized. Disparities were observed in terms of trends by age group, with incidence and positivity rates increasing among those aged 75 and older, and to a lesser extent among those aged 45–65 and then 65–75, while testing rates remained slightly lower or stable in these age groups. The incidence rates observed in these age groups nevertheless remained at a relatively low level, below 50 per 100,000 population. In younger age groups, incidence and positivity rates continued to decline in Week 38. They remained highest among those under 15 years of age, against a backdrop of continued increases in testing, in line with the health protocol in effect in schools.

• As in mainland France, the L452R mutation (carried primarily by the Delta variant) remained the overwhelming majority among regionally screened results.

• The number of reported clusters in communities remained generally stable over the past two weeks and relatively low. The majority of clusters in Week 37 were in schools (Week 38 data not yet consolidated).

• In urban areas, the rate of SOS Médecins calls for suspected Covid-19 remained generally stable over the past two weeks, as did the rate of emergency room visits across all age groups for suspected Covid-19, which remained at a low level.

• In hospitals, a stabilization in the number of new hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients reported at the regional level was recorded in weeks 37 and 38. The same was true for the number of new admissions to critical care units and the number of hospital deaths among Covid-19 patients.

• At the departmental level, a decrease in incidence rates was observed in Loire-Atlantique and Vendée in weeks 37 and 38, while an increase was observed in Sarthe, Mayenne, and to a lesser extent in Maine-et-Loire in week 38. Mayenne was the only department with an incidence rate above 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in week 38.

• In terms of vaccination, regional vaccination coverage continued to increase, most notably among 12- to 17-year-olds (77% of whom now have a complete vaccination series). It remains highest among those aged 65 to 74.