Brittany, an example to follow for the deconfinement of France?

• Brittany has been relatively spared from the coronavirus epidemic.
• Authorities believe that prompt detection of suspected cases has helped limit the spread of Covid-19.
• The detection and isolation strategy was chosen to conduct deconfinement at the national level.

Just under 3,000 identified patients and 300 deaths. If Brittany was hit by the Covid-19 epidemic, it was however relatively spared from the virus. In early March, the region had sheltered one of the first clusters where the coronavirus was actively circulating. In Auray, Crac'h or Carnac, several cases of patients had been identified in a limited geographical area. A configuration similar to the Oise or the Grand-Est region, struck very early by the epidemic, but which did not have the same consequences. In Morbihan, as in all the Breton departments, the coronavirus has seen its spread be limited, in particular due to containment measures taken quickly. What to make of it an example to follow for the deconfinement of France? Not impossible.

When we went to Crac'h on a cold Monday in March, the residents had just learned that the virus had settled and that their schools were closed until further notice. Several people then expressed their amazement at such radical measures. More than two months later, we understand that these decisions taken in the prefecture offices on a Sunday evening undoubtedly helped limit the spread of the virus. “The measures were taken very quickly. We anticipated and this delayed the spread. The epidemiological studies will have to confirm it ”, assures Stéphane Mulliez, director of the regional health agency. The bridge clubs to which the virus had invited had also acted quickly, suspending competitions and gatherings of card players.

"We knew it very quickly"

In Bruz, near Rennes, another cluster had also been detected and there too, the spread had been limited. Early detection also appears to have been the key to this success. “A teacher alerted us and warned us of several suspicious cases around her. We knew this very quickly, so we were able to intervene quickly and avoid the spread, ”explains Professor Pierre Tattevin, infectious disease specialist at the CHU Pontchaillou. An advanced post had enabled 200 people to come to see doctors the next day. According to the infectious disease specialist, this reactivity will be the key to the success of French deconfinement. “As soon as we see signals appear, we must act to stop the spread very early. If we succeed, I am sure that we will be able to escape the second wave, ”says the doctor from Rennes.

Coronavirus in Brittany: Forty-six positive cases detected at the Lannion hospital center https://t.co/y5nwuPBi6T via @ 20minutesRennes pic.twitter.com/zaXVfsKnqD

The director of the ARS shares the same opinion and insists on the need for the population to continue to respect barrier gestures and distancing. Because Breton citizenship has obviously paid off. "In the region, containment measures have been strictly observed and we have seen the spread slow very quickly."

The deconfinement acted, the capacity of the region to test its suspected cases should allow the authorities to isolate the sick. In Brittany, 3,000 to 3,700 tests per day can be carried out. In Lannion alone, where an outbreak has been detected, around 500 people have been tested and 46 cases have been identified. The strategy: "test, trace, isolate". Exactly what had been put in place in early March in Morbihan.

If the civic spirit of the population and the responsiveness of the institutions have allowed the region to escape the wave, the doctors also recognize that demography has played a role. Because Brittany does not display a high population density, unlike the Grand-Est or the Paris region. The regional prefect Michèle Kirry even pleads for "modesty". "There are factors that are beyond our control." Beyond Brittany, the entire western facade of France has been relatively spared.

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• Covid 19
• Deconfinement
• Confinement
• Health
• epidemic
• Coronavirus
• Reindeer
• Society