Summary

In week 53 (December 28, 2020, to January 3, 2021), total activity at SOS Médecins clinics increased among adults (+11%, or +5,055 visits) and decreased among children (-12%, or -2,064 visits). In Week 53, following the decline observed last week, medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 across all age groups rose again, with 2,420 procedures recorded (vs. 2,086 procedures in Week 52, or +16%). The share of total activity across all age groups is 3.9% (vs. 3.5% in week 52). This increase mainly concerns those aged 15–74 (+21%, or +353 cases) and, to a lesser extent, those aged 75 and older (+10%, or +21 cases). Among those under 15, a decline is observed, albeit with moderate numbers (-23%, or -47 cases). Suspected COVID-19 is the fourth most common diagnosis among those aged 15–74. Regionally, medical procedures for suspected COVID-19 are on the rise in most regions. The largest increases are observed in Centre-Val de Loire (+70%, or +38 cases), Brittany (+31%, or +21 cases), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (+27%, or +72 cases), Grand-Est (+23%, or +56 cases), Hauts-de-France (+22%, or +43 cases), Occitanie (+21%, or +20 procedures), and Nouvelle-Aquitaine (+20%, or +43 procedures). Since monitoring began, 162,739 procedures for suspected COVID-19 have been performed. Among seasonal conditions, there continues to be an increase in ENT disorders (+15% among 2- to 14-year-olds, or +37 cases, and +17% among adults, or +927 cases) and respiratory conditions: pneumonia (+45%, or +84 cases) and bronchitis (+66%, or +123 cases) among those aged 75 and older. Finally, there was an increase in cases of gastroenteritis among those aged 15–74 (+16%, or +250 cases), though at lower levels than in previous years. Among the most common conditions, the rise in cases of chickenpox continues among children under 2 years old (+55%, or +68 cases). There was an increase in cases of trauma among those aged 2–14 (+12%, or +27 cases) and among those aged 15–74 (+9%, or +123 cases). Among those aged 75 and older, there was an increase in procedures for death (+21%, or +88 procedures), deterioration in general health (+11%, or +46 procedures), and heart failure (+18%, or +41 procedures).