Key Points

• Following various cluster investigations conducted in S05 and S06, a general relaxation in the adherence to preventive measures has been observed. Compounding this issue is the spread of variant cases across the region, with these variants circulating within certain clusters.

• This complex situation is reflected in an increase in the number of new cases and the incidence rate. Health impact indicators are also rising, although they also reflect an increase in the number of EVASAN reports. The virus is therefore circulating very actively and continues to intensify.

• Due to an insufficient number of participating laboratories and/or the number of screened RT-PCR tests included in the analysis, the results of the CNR Respiratory Virus Flash Survey #2 are not interpretable for Réunion. However, in Réunion, monitoring the number of confirmed variant cases is still possible (ARS data). As of February 17, 2021, 65 cases of variants have been confirmed in Réunion, including 56 cases of the South African variant 20H/501Y.V2 (ZA), 8 cases of the British variant 20I/501Y.V1 (UK), and 1 case of the Brazilian variant 20J/501Y.V3 (BR). Local transmission has been identified for the South African and British variants.

• As of February 17, 2021 (ARS data), 13,029 people in Réunion had received a first dose of the vaccine, representing a vaccination coverage rate of 1.6% in the general population. A total of 814 people have completed the full vaccination regimen.