A "massive" deployment of tests in nursing homes.

Visiting an accommodation facility for the elderly in Clamart, in the Paris suburbs, Friday, November 6, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, indicated that "800,000 antigenic tests" had already been sent to nursing homes in France then that 800,000 more would be delivered next week.  

The Minister of Health explained that he wanted to set up "recurrent screening whenever necessary, with staff but also residents".  

Presence of virus detected in thirty minutes

Faster, this type of test, which consists of a nasopharyngeal swab, can detect the presence of the virus in thirty minutes without going through the laboratories.

It could thus make it possible "not to isolate excessively people who would be negative but for whom we would have doubts, and at the same time not to miss diagnoses", underlined Olivier Véran. 

The Minister nevertheless specified that the antigen test comes "to supplement", and not to replace, the current device, because when it is positive, the result must be confirmed by a PCR test. 

No specific containment for vulnerable people 

The government has no intention of imposing confinement on the only people most vulnerable to Covid-19, because this solution is not "feasible" and would not respect the principle of solidarity between the generations, also assured Olivier Véran. 

"Both for reasons of feasibility and at the same time for reasons of solidarity between the generations - and we are very attached to it - this is not a solution that we have adopted and that we will retain," said Olivier. Véran on the sidelines of a visit to a retirement home in Clamart (Hauts-de-Seine). 

Such a strategy would suppose that "from a certain age, people no longer have the right to leave their homes, and others can continue to circulate. Funny society", observed Olivier Véran. 

In such a scenario, it would be "very complicated" to set a relevant age limit, added Olivier Véran, stressing that the average age of a patient in intensive care reached 62 years, but that 30% of patients in intensive care had less than 60 years old. 

With AFP

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