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Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, national and local measures were implemented on the island of Mayotte, a French overseas department in the Indian Ocean with critical socioeconomic and health indicators. Aim We aimed to describe the COVID-19 outbreak in Mayotte from March 2020 to March 2021, with two waves from 9 March to 31 December 2020 and from 1 January to 14 March 2021, linked to Beta (20H/501Y.V2) variant. Methods To understand and assess the dynamic and the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in Mayotte, surveillance and investigation/contact tracing systems were set up including virological, epidemiological, hospitalisation and mortality indicators. Results In total, 18,131 cases were laboratory confirmed, with PCR or RAT. During the first wave, incidence rate (IR) peaked in week 19 2020 (133/100,000). New hospitalisations peaked in week 20 (54 patients, including seven to ICU). Testing rate increased tenfold during the second wave. Between mid-December 2020 and mid-January 2021, IR doubled (851/100,000 in week 5 2021) and positivity rate tripled (28% in week 6 2021). SARS-CoV-2 Beta variant (Pangolin B.1.351) was detected in more than 80% of positive samples. Hospital admissions peaked in week 6 2021 with 225 patients, including 30 to ICU. Conclusion This massive second wave could be linked to the high transmissibility of the Beta variant. The increase in the number of cases has naturally led to a higher number of severe cases and an overburdening of the hospital. This study shows the value of a real-time epidemiological surveillance for better understanding crisis situations.

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Purpose This paper aims at analysing the relationship between anticipation and public administration based on a case study focusing on a specific public agency in charge of knowledge production for policymaking. Design/methodology/approach It is based on a case study methodology: anticipatory practices of a public organisation are critically assessed based on data that originates from public documents and from participant observation within the concerned agency. Findings Several dimensions impact the interrelation between anticipation and public administration. First, the organisational set-up is decisive in fostering the development of specific type of anticipatory activities. Second, it confirms a common finding that policymakers are oftentimes more interested in ready-to-use results than in processes of future thinking. And third, it shows that distinctive anticipatory practices can rely on very different networks and, therefore, have different degree of maturity. Research limitations/implications The use of a case study, unfortunately, may lead to a lack of generalisability. The authors therefore encourage researchers to test their propositions further. Originality/value Nevertheless, the originality of the paper is its central focus on anticipation within public administration – a topic that has not received much attention or study by academics or researchers. Anticipatory practices have been studied at a more general level, but not necessarily in particular public sector environments, which also have their own particular constraints.

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