The 5 facts to remember from the weekly update of Public Health France

Illustration of TOulouse CHU.

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• The number of hospitalizations (+ 43%), entries into intensive care (+ 43%) and deaths (+ 45%) continued to increase in France between October 26 and November 1.

• This epidemiological point is also interested in the number of caregivers in hospitals affected by the epidemic.

• And children's disease which could be linked to Covid-19, which is now called “pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndromes”.

Each week, the weekly epidemiological update of Public Health France is scrutinized.

Because it gives, over a week, the trend on the figures of the incidence of the epidemic, hospitalizations, deaths ... But this Thursday, the results were somewhat modified.

Indeed, a lack of data feedback to the agency skews the results concerning the number of cases, the test figures being underestimated.

Nevertheless, this report underlines other important data, in particular the entries in intensive care, which continue to progress, or the impact of the epidemic on the carers…

compiles you the five pieces of information to remember.

Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions on the rise

On November 3, 2020 (date of the end of the feedback from this epidemiological point), 26,265 cases of Covid-19 were hospitalized in metropolitan France, including 3,878 in intensive care.

Are hospitalizations exploding?

“At a national level, in hospitals, the weekly number of new hospitalizations for Covid-19 increased last week with 17,450 new hospitalizations.

Clearly, we had an increase of 62% last Friday, against 43% last week.

Are hospitals in some regions more under strain than others?

"Hospitalization rates were increasing in all regions," continues the weekly point of Public Health France.

The highest rates were recorded in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (48.6 / 100,000 inhabitants), Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (40.2) and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (33.8) ”.

And on the resuscitation side?

“At the national level, the number of new intensive care admissions was also increasing (2,605 admissions or + 43%)”, explains the report.

It was + 35% the previous week.

This increase is all the more problematic as patients with Covid-19 are generally kept in these services for three weeks on average.

How many deaths in a week?

"At the national level, the weekly number of deaths continues to increase with 2,242 deaths against 1,550 the previous week, an increase of 45%," said the document.

For comparison, the increase was 78% over last Friday's weekly point.

A subject of concern emerges: many positive cases have been confirmed in nursing homes.

Places particularly bereaved during the first wave.

The summary therefore underlines: "the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases among residents of nursing homes announces the very likely increase in deaths in the coming weeks".

Who dies from Covid?

A study on death certificates drawn up electronically and sent to Public Health France since March 1, 2020 provides information on the profile of victims of this coronavirus.

And confirm the data that we have been able to read so far.

“The median age at death was 84 and 91.2% were 65 and over.

Men accounted for 55% of these deaths.

Comorbidities were recorded for 10,047 deaths (out of 15,469 reported deaths), or 65% of death certificates.

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In more detail, 34% of these deceased suffered from a cardiac pathology and 24% from arterial hypertension.

“Of all the electronically certified deaths, 2.5% of those who died did not present with comorbidity and were under the age of 65,” the document points out.

An age pyramid of victims that can be found on the 1,362 people who died over the past week from Covid-19: 1,119 (82%) were over 75 years old, 185 were between 65 and 74 years old, 53 people were elderly aged 45 to 64 and 5 people were aged 15 to 44.

Caregivers affected by the epidemic

This weekly point innovates by looking at the specific situation of caregivers, on the front line for months and again for long weeks.

We know that some have paid a heavy price.

But we now know the precise number of cases and deceased.

Since March 1, 44,281 people working in health establishments, public or private, have been infected.

Of which 8,015 cases in October only.

"A total of 17 deaths linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection have been recorded since March 1, 2020, including 5 doctors, 4 nursing assistants, 2 health professionals classified as" other "and 6 non-nursing professionals", points to the document.

A return of children's illness?

This is information that may upset more than one parent.

At the end of April, some doctors alerted to a curious pathology affecting children, potentially caused by Covid-19, which was once called the disease similar to Kawasaki syndrome.

Since then, things have been refined and these syndromes are listed under the name of “pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndromes” (PIMS).

New cases have appeared since the fall, which is why the health agency offers some data on this subject which concerns children.

But the figures remind us that these syndromes remain extremely rare: there have been 240 cases since March in France.

“We have had 33 new cases since September 15, but no deaths,” reassures Christine Campese, epidemiologist at Public Health France.

Data show that the median age of sick children is 7 and a quarter is under 3.

In 76% of cases, the disease had a certain, probable or possible link with Covid-19.

Since March, only one child has died from it.

On the other hand, "a stay in intensive care was necessary for 110 children (46%) and in critical care unit for 38 children (16%)", specifies the point of Public Health France.

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