Covid-19: were curfews in France associated with hospitalisations?

Abstract

Abstract Objectives A curfew was introduced in France in October 2020 to reduce the spread of Covid-19. This was done for two weeks in 16 departments, or for one week in 38 others, 42 departments not being subjected to the curfew. This article compares the number of new daily hospital admissions in these departments. Methods The ratio of the number of new hospitalisations during these two weeks and in the previous two weeks was computed in the three categories of departments. Results The increase in new hospitalisations was lower in departments under curfew for two weeks than in all other departments, and this result does not seem to be linked to characteristics of the departments before curfew. Conclusions This result shows that the two-week curfew is linked to a lower increase of hospitalisations, but not that the curfew by itself is the cause of this result, as other factors may have played a role.