Key Points

• In Week 12 (March 16–22), emergency room visits increased among children (+10%, or +8,046 visits) and hospitalizations following a visit increased only among children under 2 years of age (+6%, or +186 hospitalizations). Activity remained stable in other age groups.

• Visits for ENT infections increased across all age groups (+12%, or +1,218 visits). Among children, there is also an increase in visits for allergies (+19%, or +126 visits) and coughs (+11%, or +82 visits), and among children under 2 years of age, for asthma attacks (+7%, or +49 visits) and bronchiolitis (+11%, or +105 visits).

• We also note among children an increase in visits related to acute abdominal symptoms: gastroenteritis (+16%, or +435 visits) and vomiting (+8%, or +115 visits), and among children under 2 years of age, specific abdominal pain (+13%, or +70 visits) and urinary tract infections (+22%, or +55 visits).

• There was also an increase in visits for fever alone across all age groups (+17%, or +669 visits). Among those aged 75 and older, there was an increase in visits for chest pain (+9%, or +153 visits) and for stroke (+7%, or +116 visits).

• Finally, among adults and children aged 2–14, visits for trauma also increased this week (by 7% and 13%, respectively, or 4,772 and 3,034 visits).