Abstract

Following a gradual increase in COVID-19 cases in early February, the Île-de-France region experienced rapid community spread of COVID-19 in March, with the epidemic peaking in week 13, from March 23 to 29. The epidemic had a major impact in the Île-de-France region in terms of hospitalizations—with patients in the region accounting for more than 40% of all hospitalizations in France—and in terms of deaths in both hospitals and long-term care facilities. Among staff at healthcare and long-term care facilities, who were particularly at risk, more than 14,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded, according to surveys conducted by Santé publique France and the Ile-de-France Regional Health Agency (8,331 confirmed or probable cases among healthcare facility staff and 5,772 confirmed cases among nursing home staff) recorded since March 1.

The lockdown was followed by a sharp decline in the use of healthcare services for COVID-19, first observed in outpatient settings during week 14, from March 30 to April 5, and then in hospitals starting April 7, which continued through week 19, from May 4 to 10.

In week 19, from May 4 to 10—the last week before the lockdown was lifted—the decline continued in both outpatient settings and hospitals for the sixth consecutive week. However, on the eve of the lockdown’s lifting, the epidemic remained active in the region, with nearly 200 hospitalizations for COVID-19 each day, representing a hospitalization rate 2.5 times higher than that observed nationally outside the Île-de-France region (16 vs. 6 hospitalizations for COVID-19 per day per million inhabitants), reflecting the intensity of the epidemic