Key Points

COVID-19

• In Week 15, epidemiological indicators remained at a high level, with a downward trend for most of them.

• An adjustment was applied to the incidence and testing rates for weeks including a holiday (notably Week 14) to account for the effect on testing activity. The methodology was presented in the Epidemiological Update of April 15, 2021, and a methodological note describing it in greater detail is available on the Santé publique France website. Following this adjustment, a decline in viral circulation was observed in Week 15 at the regional level.

• The number of new COVID-19 patient admissions to general wards and intensive care units decreased for the second consecutive time in five weeks. Nevertheless, even though the strain on hospitals appears to be easing, it remains a cause for concern. The total number of COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Normandy decreased in both general wards and intensive care units. The number of patients who died during hospitalization was decreasing.

• Analysis of screening test results for variants of interest collected via the SI-DEP tool showed a stable proportion of suspected UK variants, accounting for 73.9% of screened tests. The proportion of suspected ZA or BR variants was also stable at 3.5%. Seine-Maritime had a proportion of 81.4% suspected UK variants, Calvados 73.9%, Orne 73.8%, Manche 69.1%, and Eure 66.1%. The proportion of suspected cases of the ZA or BR variants was 8.7% in Manche, 7.8% in Eure, 3.5% in Calvados, 2.9% in Orne, and 1.8% in Seine-Maritime.

• The vaccination campaign continues. By week 15, 83.7% of nursing home residents had received two doses of the vaccine. Vaccination coverage with at least one dose in the general population in Normandy was approximately 21.7%.

Mortality

The age-standardized all-cause mortality rate in the Normandy region was moderately elevated in weeks 13 and 12 and was in line with expected levels in week 14. The data still needs to be consolidated. The number of deaths among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 decreased slightly in week 15 compared to the previous week.

Bronchiolitis

Epidemic phase on the decline. In week 15, bronchiolitis activity (children under 2 years old) began to decrease slightly in emergency departments and increased at SOS-médecin, with high activity levels. Thirty RSV cases were isolated by the Rouen University Hospital laboratory and 10 by the Caen University Hospital laboratory. The positivity rate is increasing.

Gastroenteritis

In week 15, activity for acute gastroenteritis (all ages) at SOS-Médecins and emergency departments is decreasing. The activity level is classified as low for both SOS-Médecins and emergency departments. The incidence of acute diarrhea continued to decline.