Key Points

In Week 9 (February 27–March 5, 2023), the fourth week of school vacation, emergency room visits increased among children aged 2–14 (+9%, or +4,924 visits), while they remained stable in other age groups. Among children under 2, however, activity (visits and hospitalizations following visits) is down.

Nearly all monitored indicators were stable or declining across all age groups.

Notably, among children aged 2 to 14, indicator trends align with the resumption of school activities in two of the three regions, with an increase in visits for trauma (+22%, or +3,903 visits) and abdominal pain (+11%, or +429 visits), as well as for suicide attempts (+25%, or +34 visits).

Finally, in small sample sizes, an increase in visits for suspected COVID-19 was observed (except among those aged 75 and older): +20 visits (a 26% increase) among children under 2, +19 visits (a 146% increase) among those aged 2–14, and +55 visits (a 12% increase) among those aged 15–74.