EPIDEMIC: The situation is partly explained by a return to normal screening practices, but also by a resumption of the circulation of Sars-Cov-2, Public Health analysis
- The positivity rate in Nouvelle-Aquitaine went from 1.9% to 4% during the last week of 2020.
- This is partly a return to normal screening practices, after a sharp increase just before Christmas, decrypts Public Health, but also a resumption of the circulation of the virus.
- The increase in the positivity rate is observed in all the departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The situation can be explained in part by a return to normal screening practices . But also by a resumption of the circulation of the virus . If there is no need to panic yet, the latest figures from Santé Publique France are hardly reassuring. According to the latest epidemiological report published on Friday, most indicators concerning the circulation of Covid-19 are on the rise in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
With 5,615 cases confirmed between December 28 and January 3, the positivity rate in the region is now 4%. It was 1.9% a week earlier, between December 21 and 27. “This increase is observed in all age groups, particularly among children aged 0 to 14, where the rate has risen from 2.1% to 7.4%, and is thus above the threshold of attention (5%), Public Health note. At the same time, the screening rate fell sharply in week 53 with 2,321 tests performed per 100,000 inhabitants against 3,650 per 100,000 in week 52, i.e. a drop in the screening rate of 37%. ”
3.8% positivity rate in Gironde
The increase in the positivity rate can be observed in all the departments, particularly in Haute-Vienne (4.6%), Gironde (3.8%), Vienne (3.1%), Landes ( 5.9%) and in Dordogne (3.4%) where this rate has more than doubled. The departments of Deux-Sèvres and Landes have the highest positivity rates in the region (over 5%).
The incidence rate is also on the rise, since it now stands at 93.6 / 100,000 inhabitants, against 70.5 on December 27, an increase of 30%. “This trend is observed in all age groups, except for those aged 75 and over, where this rate was already the highest but has remained stable. ”
The incidence rate varies from 60.4 in Vienne to 169.6 in Deux-Sèvres. We note a particularly strong increase in Deux-Sèvres (+ 65%), Haute-Vienne (+ 60%) and Dordogne (+ 55%) . The only department to record a decrease is Lot-et-Garonne (-10%), but it remains among the highest regional rates behind Deux-Sèvres, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques. It is 94.7 in Gironde, against 68.8 a week earlier.
Influx of people wishing to be tested during the holidays
This situation is indeed the consequence of “a resumption of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the region”, but Public Health also notes that “this evolution of the positivity rate and the screening rate in the opposite direction is probably linked to a “return to normal” in screening practices “.
Indeed, during the holidays, “an influx of people wishing to be tested so as not to risk exposing their family circle to the virus has led to an increase in screening as a precaution in asymptomatic people and thus a mechanical decrease in the positivity rate. We are now witnessing the opposite phenomenon, with a decrease in the number of tests carried out and an increase in the positivity rate linked to a refocusing of screening on symptomatic people and contact cases of confirmed cases. ”
For the moment, activity in hospitals is stable, with 1,136 people hospitalised for Coronavirus Covid-19, including 147 in intensive care. Among hospitalized patients, more than three-quarters (77.4%) are over 70 years old. A third of patients (35.3%) are hospitalized in Gironde, 14.5% in Pyrénées-Atlantiques and 10.7% in Landes.
