Nurses from the Nantes University Hospital take care of a patient with Covid.

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L.Venance / AFP

  • The figures show a rapid progression of the virus in Pays-de-la-Loire, also in children.

  • While it is difficult to measure their effective circulation, several cases of variants have been identified in recent days.

Communications from the regional health agency (ARS) of Pays-de-la-Loire follow one another… and are not alike.

While the region seemed last week still somewhat spared by the coronavirus epidemic, the situation has deteriorated rapidly in recent days.

So much so that the director of the ARS Jean-Jacques Coiplet estimated this Thursday evening that it could be the "beginning of a third epidemic wave in our region".

The few indicators communicated prove in any case that the circulation of the virus is progressing: the incidence rate, equal to 157 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, has taken 13 points since Tuesday.

And the R (average number of people infected by a patient), equal to 1.09 in France, is 1.21 in our territory.

"The positivity rate (6.4%) has also almost reached the national level (6.67%)", continues Jean-Jacques Coiplet.

The situation in schools is worrying, with ten classes now closed.

In the Sarthe, a college clearly shows the door closed after the discovery of several cases within the educational team.

Variant viruses

So, how to explain this sudden increase?

If the Pays-de-la-Loire was one of the least affected regions so far, and therefore the least immune, all eyes are on the variants of the virus (English and South African) after several cases have been identified. in Choletais, Vendée, or Nantes.

According to the ARS, surveillance is still underway for these different situations, but they do not cause concern for any of them.

However, it is difficult to really measure the circulation of these variants, and their impact on this “third wave”, insofar as a specific analysis, called sequencing, must take place to detect them.

As of this week, the Nantes and Angers CHUs have been equipped for, but with a capacity of around a hundred tests per week.

According to the figures, only 10 cases have been officially confirmed.

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