Key Points

COVID-19

• In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission tended to stabilize in weeks 34–35. A slight increase in hospital indicators was observed in week 35, though these remained at low levels.

• In Week 35, the regional incidence rate was 129 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It remained stable compared to the previous week after seven consecutive weeks of decline. The testing rate was also low (658 per 100,000 in Week 35) and relatively stable since Week 33. At 19.6% in Week 35, the positivity rate had fallen by 25 percentage points since its peak in Week 27 and was also trending toward stabilization over the past two weeks. The favorable trend in virological indicators was relatively consistent across departments and among age groups aged 15 and older. Children under 15, who had stood out for several weeks with notably lower testing and incidence rates than other age groups, showed an increase in the incidence rate and positivity rate in weeks 34 and 35, while the testing rate remained stable.

• In terms of healthcare utilization, the number of emergency department visits and the number of SOS Médecins calls for suspected COVID-19 have tended to stabilize since Week 34. In hospitals, new hospitalizations and new admissions to critical care units showed a slight upward trend, though at levels that remained low, since Week 35. Deaths among hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 were decreasing.

Monkeypox

• In the Pays de La Loire region, 80 cases with a biologically confirmed diagnosis of monkeypox have been reported.

Extreme Heat, Heat Wave

• The region was hit by a third intense heat wave between August 9 and 13, 2022