Key Points

COVID-19

• In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission continued to decline in weeks 31–32. Hospital indicators also continued to decline.

• In Week 32, the regional incidence rate was 151 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a 33% decrease compared to the previous week. In Week 32, the testing rate had dropped to 675 per 100,000 inhabitants and the positivity rate to 22%. The decline in virological indicators continued to affect all departments in the Pays de la Loire region and all age groups.

• Indicators of Covid-19-related healthcare utilization showed the same trend at the regional level: the number of emergency room visits and the number of SOS Médecins calls for suspected Covid-19, as well as new hospitalizations, new admissions to intensive care, and deaths of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 were all decreasing.

Extreme heat, heat wave

• Between August 9 and 13, 2022, the region was hit by a third intense heat wave (Météo-France website).

• Loire-Atlantique and Vendée were placed under an orange alert during this heatwave, while Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, and Sarthe were under a yellow alert.

• A moderate increase in healthcare requests to the region’s SOS Médecins associations (located in Loire-Atlantique, Nantes, and Saint-Nazaire) for heat-related conditions was observed during this period, among the general population of all ages and among those aged 75 and older.