Epidemiological Surveillance in the Pays de la Loire Region. Update as of December 23, 2022.

Published on 23 December 2022

Key Points

In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission began to decline. However, the number of new hospitalizations continued to rise.
In Week 50, the regional incidence rate and positivity rate began to decline, by –6% and –2 percentage points, respectively, compared to the previous week, reaching 575 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants and 33%, respectively. This decline was observed across all age groups, except among those aged 65 and older (incidence rate stable among those aged 65–74 and up by 7% among those aged 75 and older).
Seekings of medical care for suspected COVID-19 in Week 50 remained at moderate levels, decreasing for SOS Médecins calls and stable for emergency room visits. New hospitalizations of patients with SARS-CoV-2 continued to rise in Week 50, reaching a relatively high level. New admissions to intensive care and in-hospital deaths among patients with SARS-CoV-2 remained stable.

The Pays de la Loire region has been in an epidemic phase for bronchiolitis since Week 41.
After the epidemic peak in weeks 47–48, SOS Médecins calls and emergency department visits for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age, as well as hospitalizations following emergency department visits, continued to decline in week 50, though they remained at high levels. The rate of emergency department visits for bronchiolitis observed in week 50 was still close to the levels reached during the peaks of previous years.

The Pays de la Loire region has been in the flu epidemic phase since Week 49.
In Week 50, SOS Médecins calls and emergency department visits for influenza-like illness rose sharply across all age groups, reaching levels seen during the peak of the previous season in the region. Hospitalizations following emergency department visits were also rising sharply in Week 50. Reports of severe influenza cases from the region’s intensive care units and clusters of acute respiratory failure (excluding COVID-19) in long-term care facilities were also noted in recent weeks.