"At my age, I would like to know!" Says Noëla Baude, 86, her face covered by a fabric mask with a floral motif. In Morbecque (North), the mayor offered all his population a serological test of Covid-19, a first in France. Diabetic, Noëla Baude was not sick but wanted to reassure herself. "It is very good that the mayor is doing this," she salutes in the queue of the Biotop medical analysis laboratory, located in the neighboring commune of Hazebrouck.
Lots of tests out of curiosity
Until 1 July, the approximately 2,600 inhabitants of Morbecque, 50 km north-east of Lille, have the possibility of being there free of charge, subjected to a serological test to detect possible antibodies to Covid-19, based on volunteering.
"When you know that 80% of people are asymptomatic, curiosity" is one of the main factors, explains Laurent Soupison, biologist and director of the Biotop laboratory, where five people are mobilized to perform around 12 tests per hour. "The goal was to see how the transmissions are going in a lambda commune in France which has not been very contaminated," he adds. This "epidemiological vision" makes it possible to "see if a person, with or without symptoms, has been in contact with the coronavirus, even in January or in February".
"I wanted to know"
"Very reliable", this test is "much less restrictive than a nasopharyngeal sample", underlines Laurent Soupison. "Patients make an appointment, come with proof of identity and address, fill out a technical file, wait and are charged."
In a sampling room, Anne-Charlotte Marchant, 30, reaches out to get bitten. "As an Ehpad nurse, I have been in contact with several positive people, so I wanted to know if I could have been infected, even if I was not sick" to "avoid pass it on to my loved ones, "she says.
"We respected a very strict confinement", assures Michèle Casaert, 63 years old. "Normally, I shouldn't be positive," she predicts, admitting that she "probably wouldn't have done the test without this operation".
An operation supported 100% by the municipal budget
"At this stage, we have a hundred people a day, a sign that it is appreciated by the population", welcomes Jérôme Darques, the mayor (various right) of Morbecque, who will try to find state subsidies to finance this operation, covered 100% by the municipal budget up to 25 euros per test.
On the technical platform, an automaton is running at full speed to analyze the tubes, controlled by a computer system. For the Covid test, it takes about 30 minutes to get the first results. Strictly confidential, these are sent to the patient the next day by mail or electronic means.
"3% of people tested positive"
Of 320 people tested the first week, "97% are negative, and 3% positive", or "a low rate of contamination" according to Laurent Soupison. The statistical data, precious for the town, will also serve as a "photo, in June, after the first wave".
Jérôme Darques, he expects the operation to multiply "like wildfire". "Many municipalities will try to find out," he predicts, like Nice, which launched the same operation on Wednesday on a larger scale.
However, "for now, there is no certainty about the ability to be immune and therefore protected," recalls Laurent Soupison. This is why "barrier gestures must be maintained for the whole population".