Summary

What is currently known about the situation in the Pays de la Loire region?

The first confirmed cases of COVID-19 were detected in late February in the Pays de la Loire region, followed by a first wave of the epidemic. Community spread of the virus, as observed through various surveillance indicators (SOS Médecins, emergency departments, laboratories, intensive care admissions, etc.), peaked in week 13 of 2020 (March 23–29) in the region. With the implementation of lockdown measures on March 17, COVID-19-related activity then gradually declined. During this period, the Pays de la Loire region, like other regions along the Atlantic coast, was one of the least affected regions.
For several weeks now, trends in surveillance indicators have shown that the epidemic has stabilized at a low level, though the virus continues to circulate in the community. It is therefore important to continue following hygiene, protective, and physical distancing measures to minimize the emergence or persistence of transmission chains.

What’s new in this Update for the region?

Three weeks after the lifting of lockdown measures, the level of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulation in the community remains limited in the region. In Week 22 (May 25–31), the favorable trend in COVID-19 indicators (both in the community and in hospitals) continued compared to previous weeks.
Despite this limited circulation, clusters of cases are being identified and investigated with the aim of controlling transmission chains. As of June 3, 9 clusters (excluding nursing homes and small family settings) are under investigation in the region, primarily in workplaces, healthcare facilities, and among vulnerable populations (see pages 6–7).
Virological surveillance relies on data transmitted from community and hospital laboratories, centralized within a national platform (SI-DEP). This new system enables the real-time collection of the number of patients tested and the number of SARS-CoV-2 positive tests, thereby allowing for monitoring of the evolution of the positivity rate and the incidence of the disease. For the second week, these data are presented on pages 4 and 5 of this Epidemiological Update.

What are the public health implications in the region?

The lifting of lockdown measures related to the COVID-19 epidemic and the resumption of normal daily activities are accompanied by a contact-tracing system put in place to prevent the virus from spreading again. It is structured into three levels that work together 24/7:

• Healthcare professionals (particularly private practitioners and laboratories) are on the front lines for case management and identifying the immediate circle of contacts.

• Local contact tracing platforms, bringing together expertise from the Health Insurance system and the Regional Health Agency, are responsible for identifying and monitoring new cases and providing support (isolation and compliance with lockdown measures, sick leave, diagnosis, contact tracing, and follow-up of cases and their contacts).

• This system is supplemented by departmental and regional expert teams combining multidisciplinary expertise (Regional Health Agencies, Santé publique France, CPIA, National Education, etc.) essential for the early identification, characterization, and management of any situation involving clusters of cases or localized resurgence of the epidemic.

Santé Publique France continues its surveillance activities by conducting a daily contextualized regional analysis. This analysis draws on surveillance systems and provides regional health authorities and the Ministry of Health with a comprehensive set of indicators to monitor the COVID-19 epidemic on a daily basis.

The Pays de la Loire Regional Health Agency (ARS) regularly publishes extensive information on COVID-19 on its website to prevent, inform, and support healthcare providers and the population of the Loire region. This Weekly Epidemiological Report summarizes all available surveillance indicators for monitoring the epidemic in the region.