The mask becomes mandatory again in the public space of 25 municipalities on the Loire-Atlantique coast, around Saint-Nazaire and Guérande, due to the "
observed outbreak of the delta variant
" of Covid-19, announced Thursday, July 29. Regional prefect Didier Martin.
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He accompanied this measure with a ban on alcohol consumption on public roads throughout the Loire-Atlantique department.
These provisions will remain in force at least until August 13, he said at a joint press conference with the Regional Health Agency (ARS).
The prefectural decree taken on Thursday applies in municipalities located north of the Loire estuary: the 10 municipalities of the agglomeration community around Saint-Nazaire and the 15 municipalities of Cap Atlantique (Guérande, La Baule, Le Croisic ...).
However, beaches and natural areas such as the Brière marshes are excluded from this obligation.
A "two-speed" region
In the agglomeration of Saint-Nazaire, the incidence rate amounts to 235 / 100,000 inhabitants and in the municipalities of Cap Atlantique it amounts to 239 / 100,000, said the ARS.
Read also: Covid-19: until when should we wear the mask indoors?
"
It is not the entire Loire Atlantique coast that is concerned at this stage by this measure because, as surprising as it may seem, the incidence rates are notably lower
" to the south of the estuary, in the sectors of Pornic or Saint-Brévin, explained the prefect.
Regarding the epidemic in Pays de la Loire, Didier Martin explained that the region was "
a bit at two speeds
", with two coastal departments where "
the percentages have increased a lot
", Loire-Atlantique and Vendée, and the other departments (Mayenne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire) having incidence rates "
significantly lower than 100 per 100,000
".
On the Atlantic coast, the prefectural authorities of Vendée, Charente-Maritime, Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques recently issued decrees making the mask compulsory in tourist areas.