With more than 700 new deaths reported in hospitals and nursing homes, the country has now, this Tuesday, surpassed the threshold of 80,000 deaths due to the Coronavirus. The government calls for utmost vigilance and has declared a state of health emergency until next June, without, however, announcing a new lockdown, which is still not being considered. Here’s the Covid update…
To date, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, 1,723 people are hospitalized (+9), 451 people are in intensive care (+2), and 4,978 deaths have occurred in hospitals since the beginning of the crisis (+43).
The epidemiological situation is very mixed. The incidence and positivity rates of the departments in the region are again stable or slightly decreasing for the second consecutive week. The Alpes-Maritimes remain the most affected department in the region (905 deaths) in terms of positivity and incidence (8.7% and 455), followed by Bouches-du-Rhône (2,342 deaths; 7.2% and 389), and then Var (782 deaths; 7% and 305). The spread of the new variants, particularly the English variant (V1), is significantly increasing in the region. The positivity rate observed in week 5 in the PACA region remains higher than the national level: 7.4% against 6.3%. Covid-19 activity is stable in emergency departments and decreasing in SOS Médecins associations.
Hospitalizations in intensive care (and other critical care) and conventional hospitalization for Covid-19 continue to rise. The number of hospital deaths is decreasing compared to the previous week but remains at a high level. The impact of the epidemic in medical and social institutions and services is still significant, including its effect on mortality. However, the number of clusters is steadily decreasing compared to the peak in week 1. In the PACA region, since October, the analysis of all-cause mortality shows a significant excess death rate of about 30%, mainly among the elderly. This increase is also observed by the French Public Health Agency at the national level, but to a lesser extent (around 20% excess). As of February 7, 151,386 people have received a first dose of vaccine in the region. 16,018 have received both doses.
