Health. Covid-19: the threshold of 2,000 deaths crossed in the Rhone

The circulation of SARS-CoV-2 is still slowing down in the region and in the Rhône department, showing “the impact of contact limitation measures”, but “the hospital burden and mortality of this second epidemic wave are important in Auvergne- Rhône-Alpes ”, notes Public Health France (SpF), in its weekly bulletin of November 19th.

An exceptionally high excess of all-cause mortality “is observed in W45 (November 2 to 8) for 2is consecutive week in relation to expected mortality ”, specifies SpF. According to INSEE, between 1is September and November 9, excess mortality amounts to 28% compared to 2019 and 30% compared to 2018 in ARA. Excess mortality reaches 26% in the Rhône and up to 45% in the Loire.

+ 53% of deaths in nursing homes

As at the national level, half of the deaths are recorded in the hospital where 68% of the deceased were 80 years old and over. In the region, 22% of people die at home. Compared to 2019, the excess mortality from 1 September was particularly high in institutions for the elderly (+ 53%) and at home (+ 41%). It is twice as strong among people aged 85 and older than among those aged 65 to 74.

The circulation of the virus remains active with a series of highly critical clusters that explode with 188 new clusters in the region in S46 against 79 in S45 in particular in the EHPAD where 65% of these clusters are located. As of November 13, the region had 415 highly critical active clusters (versus 263 in S45) and the Rhone is the most affected department with 84 versus 69 in S45. The number of Covid-19 cases among residents of socio-medical institutions thus jumped from 4,197 to 4,944 in the Rhone, between 10 and 17 November, while the number of deaths in institutions rose from 629 to 717 or 88 deaths additional in a week. They are added to the 1,350 deaths registered in the hospital (+26 in 24 hours) to reach the 2,067 victims of Covid-19 in the ward from 1is Mars.

Incidence rates below 300/100 000

The latest trends show, however, that hospital pressure is expected to ease from this weekend in the Rhone. In the last 24 hours there has been a sharp decline in new hospitalizations (78) and in intensive care hospitalizations (9), bringing the number of patients hospitalized (-89) on November 20 to 1,686, of which 273 (-10) in intensive care.

The continued decline in incidence rates at a good pace confirms this trend in the right direction with an incidence rate of 294.7 / 100,000 in the Rhône and 275.6 / 100,000 in metropolitan France, which is close to the level recorded at the beginning of October .