During the COVID-19 period, we observed decreased initiation of CPR by bystanders and first aid providers for BLS, and decreased ALS by the MMT, regardless if subjects were infected with SARS-CoV-2 or not.

ROSC rates and survival were also greatly reduced, even for non-COVID-19 subjects. It is now urgent and essential to communicate good resuscitation practices during this COVID-19 period, to avoid drastic and lasting reductions in survival rates after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

Overall, 1,005 OHCA during the COVID-19 period and 1620 during the non-COVID-19 period were compared. During the COVID-19 period, bystanders and first aid providers initiated CPR less frequently (49.8% versus 54.9%; difference, − 5.1 percentage points [95% CI, − 9.1 to − 1.2]; and 84.3% vs. 88.7%; difference, − 4.4 percentage points [95% CI, − 7.1 to − 1.6]; respectively) as did mobile medical teams (67.3% vs. 75.0%; difference, − 7.7 percentage points [95% CI, − 11.3 to − 4.1]).

OHCA of medical origins identified from the French National Cardiac Arrest Registry between March 1st and April 31st 2020 (COVID-19 period), were analysed. Different resuscitation characteristics were compared with the same period from the previous year (non-COVID-19 period).

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