How do we explain the mysterious decline in pollution in the Pyrenees Atlantique?

While pollution is increasing across France, with particularly watched areas, such as Ile-de-France, which could see re-containment in the coming days, one of the sections is an exception on mainland France: the Pyrenees-Atlantic. In recent weeks, the incidence has decreased, reaching 46.5 cases per 100,000 population, making it the only one to fall below the alert threshold.

At Axbio Ocean Lab, based in Anglet, the decline contrasts with what scientists expected after the holiday – the re-emergence of the epidemic. “Looking at the numbers, we tell ourselves that we are in fact less affected by the virus.” At the Basque Coast Hospital in Bayonne, the situation is satisfactory, with only one sector of Covid open, as Dr Stephanie Bordis Kueku, medical officer at the Basque Coast Hospital explained: “In November, we still had the three Covid sectors open, it was very different.”

Last fall, the number of Covid-19 patients was ten times more than it is today in the region, and infections there were above the national average. According to Dr. Bordes Couecou, ​​this could be one of the explanations: “There is a part of the population that has been vaccinated, but that doesn’t explain everything.” According to scientists, the region’s climate or very strong winds, which can help spread the virus, could explain this decline as well.

However, as Maritxu Blanzaco, Director of the Regional Health Agency Pyrénées-Atlantiques (ARS) points out, everything was ready for outbreaks in the department: “We had a lot of tourists in February, we have a border with Spain, and we have big cities. Everything was there to make things go up, so it is difficult to explain this decline. (…) This virus tells us that the reality of a day is definitely not the reality of tomorrow. .

In the face of this mysterious decrease in the number of cases, ARS continues to demand the greatest caution, even as some elected officials demand that health restrictions be eased. Like David Habib, the Socialist MP for the Pyrenees Atlantique, who is proposing to postpone the curfew from 6 pm until 8 pm. “We are examining on a case-by-case basis what is happening in the regions.”Duplex asked on Friday evening on TF1.

“In our department, for two weeks now, we’ve been below the critical threshold of 50 cases. So, I’m campaigning so we can kind of experiment and see how things can develop until tomorrow, in” Throughout the country, when the situation stabilizes, we can be inspired. Examples include Béarnais and Basques, he added.