Key points

In week 42, the resurgence of the virus was confirmed in metropolitan France, with a new increase in the incidence rate and an upward trend in new hospitalizations.

• Metropolitan France:

  • Greater increase in the incidence rate among people aged 60 and older

  • Incidence rate above 50 per 100,000 inhabitants in 44 departments

  • R number >1 and rising, leading to accelerated spread of SARS-CoV-2 across the country

  • Decline in the testing rate among adults aged 20 and older, especially among those aged 20–39

  • Trend of increasing or stable numbers of new hospital and

  • intensive care admissions in all regions

• Overseas France:

  • French Guiana: falling incidence and hospitalization rates

Variants

• Delta variant identified in 100% of sequenced samples in Flash Surveys on September 28 and October 5, 2021

Contact tracing

• Increase in the average number of contacts per case amid a rising number of cases

• Higher proportion of cases previously identified as contacts

Prevention

• Vaccination as of October 26, 2021 (Covid Vaccine data):

  • 76.2% of the French population had received at least one vaccine dose and 74.3% were fully vaccinated

  • 16.9% of people aged 65 and older had received a booster dose

• Importance of combining measures: vaccination, including the booster for people over 65, adherence to contact tracing, and compliance with preventive measures