Key Points

In week 45 of 2020, following an increase in testing activity since week 40, a slight decrease was observed this week, with 208,133 RT-PCR tests performed (compared to 209,250 in week 44 of 2020). The number of new biologically confirmed cases is also down slightly, with 23,543 cases (compared to 25,298 the previous week). This number is nonetheless 38 times higher than at the start of the reopening (616 new infections in week 21 of 2020). The incidence rate is also decreasing compared to week 44 of 2020 and now stands at 427.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 459 the previous week). It is now similar to the national incidence rate, which stands at 431.2 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants (compared to 486 in week 44 of 2020). The regional positivity rate has stabilized this week at 17%, compared to 17.2% in week 44 of 2020. Viral circulation continues to affect all age groups. Just under two-thirds (60%) of new cases tested in week 45 of 2020 are under 50 years old, and 30% are between 20 and 39 years old (these figures were 78% and 46%, respectively, in early September). More than one-third (39%) report being asymptomatic and 51% symptomatic (information is not available for 10% of new cases), whereas symptomatic cases accounted for 38% in early September.

Viral circulation appears to be slowing somewhat, with rising incidence rates in certain departments, though less sharply than in recent weeks: Haute-Marne (547 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Meuse (383 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Moselle (434 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Haut-Rhin (445 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), and Vosges (435 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Elsewhere, incidence rates are down compared to the previous week; this is the case in the Ardennes (495 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Aube (381 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), the Marne (291 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Meurthe-et-Moselle (360 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), and the Bas-Rhin (504 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Nevertheless, the incidence rate still exceeds the maximum alert threshold in all 10 departments of the region.

The number of new hospitalizations and the number of new admissions to intensive care units for COVID-19 have increased compared to week 44 of 2020 (by 28% and 29%, respectively). In week 45 of 2020, Covid-19 activity in the region’s emergency departments and hospital wards returned to the level observed during the second half of April at the end of the first lockdown. The number of Covid-19 deaths in healthcare facilities is also on the rise (37 deaths compared to 93 the previous week).