Key Points

• The first European case of COVID-19 was identified in Nouvelle-Aquitaine on January 24, 2020.

• Between March 2020 and May 2021, three successive waves of the epidemic were observed in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.

• Nouvelle-Aquitaine was one of the regions least affected by the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, with varying dynamics across departments.

• In terms of severity, the first wave of the epidemic (from March to June 2020) was the least severe.

• Starting in August 2020, the epidemiological situation was marked by the emergence of clusters in private settings, and starting in September 2020, by clusters in workplaces and schools.

• The second wave of the epidemic (from August to the end of December 2020), which was intense in scale, particularly affected elderly people in nursing homes.

• Viral circulation remained at a high level until April 2021, with a slowdown in epidemic activity during periods when schools were closed.

• The third wave (from January to May 2021) was generally more severe, likely due to the circulation of the Alpha variant in the country.

• Each lockdown period was followed by a decline in virological indicators, which in turn was followed by a decrease in hospital admission rates.

• Among the elderly, an improvement in COVID-19 epidemiological indicators was observed starting in mid-February 2021 following the rollout of vaccination in this population at risk of severe disease.

• In total, from March 1, 2020, to June 6, 2021, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine:

  • 312,919 people tested positive for COVID-19;

  • 19,901 people were hospitalized and 3,517 people were admitted to intensive care for COVID-19;

  • 5,256 people died from COVID-19.