Key Points

COVID-19

In Week 8 in Normandy, epidemic surveillance indicators continue to rise. Incidence rates and positivity rates are increasing in Seine-Maritime, Eure, and Orne, and are stable or decreasing in the other departments. The effective reproduction number, which reflects the rate of spread, is increasing and above 1.

The resurgence of the epidemic is not fully reflected in hospital settings. In fact, the number of new hospitalizations and the total number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 are decreasing. However, there is a time lag between the resurgence of the epidemic in the general population and its impact on hospitalizations. The number of people hospitalized in intensive care remains stable. However, the number of new admissions to intensive care increased slightly in week 8, particularly in Seine-Maritime.

The vaccination campaign continues, with vaccination coverage reaching 90.4% for the first dose and 73.2% for the second dose among nursing home residents as of March 3.

More transmissible variants are becoming predominant. In week 8, 55.9% of positive first-line tests (RT-PCR and antigen tests) recorded in SI-DEP were associated with a screening test (i.e., 3,728). Of these, 59.7% (2,225) corresponded to a suspected UK variant
and 5.8% (216) to a suspected ZA or BR variant. Eure and Seine-Maritime had, respectively, a proportion of 79% and 60% of suspected UK variants, Calvados 46%, Orne 37%, and Manche 33%. The proportion of suspected cases of the ZA or BR variants was 15.8% in Calvados, 15.4% in Manche, 7.3% in Orne, and less than 3% in the other departments.

Bronchiolitis

In week 8: bronchiolitis activity is slightly increasing in emergency departments and stable at SOS-Médecins. Thirty-one RSV cases were isolated by the Rouen University Hospital laboratory. Currently diagnosed respiratory infections are mainly due to rhinoviruses. Activity for acute gastroenteritis in emergency departments is decreasing, while the incidence of acute diarrhea remains stable in week 8. Emergency department activity for acute gastroenteritis and the incidence rate of acute diarrhea remain at levels lower than those of previous years during the same
period.

Gastroenteritis

Activity for acute gastroenteritis is increasing at SOS-médecins, reaching a level similar to previous years.