- In the Haut-Rhin, 402 elderly people have died in nursing homes since the start of the epidemic, according to an assessment made Sunday.
- The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced last Monday a screening campaign to curb the spread of the virus.
- The results of the tests must make it possible to adapt the health response in the establishments.
Screening started on Tuesday, in 10 accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad), out of 74 in the Haut-Rhin. In total, a thousand residents and 900 staff will be tested by Friday, specify the Latest news from Alsace .
More than one in seven residents in the department will be tested. In the Haut-Rhin, 402 elderly people have died in nursing homes since the start of the epidemic, according to an assessment made Sunday.
Detect antibodies in the blood
"Carried out by an analysis laboratory, screening aims to determine if an individual has been in contact with the coronavirus thanks to the presence of antibodies in the blood and if he is a priori immune," said the departmental council. The objective is to optimize the health security of residents and staff through an epidemic map of establishments and to adapt the rules of individual confinement on a case-by-case basis. "
Among the establishments concerned, the Les Vosges residence in Wittenheim, which was hit very hard. “We have lost 18 of our 69 residents in the past month, reports the director, Francine Vantalon Le Dinh. In addition, 30% of the staff have been reached; we managed with replacements, temporary workers. "
"We were forgotten by everyone"
At the beginning of the crisis, the presence at the nursing home of volunteers from an evangelical structure is a hypothesis which would explain the spread of the virus in this establishment north of Mulhouse. For the past month, residents had been confined and families could no longer come, except in very rare cases, linked to the end of life.
Solicited by the departmental council, the director of the retirement home accepted the proposal for systematic screening of residents and staff. "We were forgotten by everyone, it got a little unlocked," she says. No deaths have been reported since Thursday, and staff members who have been ill have started to return to work.
Results early next week
What to expect from screening? "The residents want to know their condition, and we hope tests that they show that we have developed antibodies," says the director of the Wittenheim nursing home. This afternoon, a team from the Biorhin laboratory was expected to start testing the 51 patients and 37 staff members.
Screening will continue on Thursday and Friday, with results expected early next week.
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