A kind of signposted route to know what to do, when, and with whom. During the final presentation of the deconfinement plan, this Thursday, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, returned in detail to the protocol to be followed for people who, as of May 11, believe they are infected with the coronavirus.
Another challenge: to identify and manage the people who will have been in contact with them, the famous contact cases. 20 Minutes summarizes the procedure for you.
Step 1: Call your doctor if you have symptoms
The starting point: the symptoms, now known, of Covid. "If you have symptoms suggestive of a Covid-19 infection (cough, fever, respiratory gene, loss of taste or smell), you must act, do not wait for it to pass", insisted Olivier Véran . In this case, you should immediately contact your doctor. If he is not available, go to a doctor on call or 15, to be referred to another doctor if necessary.
Step 2: Get tested
After discussion with the practitioner, the practitioner may deem it useful to order a screening test. To obtain it, several solutions: a hospital, a city laboratory, a drive, or even at home via a mobile team. This PCR test will be free, as it is covered 100% by Social Security.
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Step 3: Isolate yourself while waiting for the test result
We must then isolate ourselves while awaiting the verdict. This isolation will not be compulsory in the strict sense of the term, but very strongly recommended. The general rule will be home isolation. But "according to the situation" of the patients, according to the words of Olivier Véran, the doctor may propose isolation outside the home, for example at the hotel, with the support of "territorial support cells".
Step 4: If you are positive, stay at home and avoid contact
If the test is positive, the maintenance at home should continue "up to two days after healing of symptoms, that is to say on average for 8 to 10 days", according to the Minister of Health. If the patient lives alone, this "confinement" is facilitated. If several people live in the accommodation, it is recommended to stay in a specific room and avoid contact with other occupants. But also to ventilate regularly, to wash your hands frequently. Or avoid touching objects that can be touched by others, disinfect regularly touched surfaces such as doorknobs or mobile phones.
"If you are in the presence of your spouse, for example, your doctor will advise you to wear a mask at all times," added the Minister of Health. Masks which will be available in pharmacies and which will then be covered 100% by Health Insurance. No visits, unless absolutely necessary as for home helpers.
Step 5: Search for contact cases
As soon as a patient is identified, Health Insurance or the Regional Health Agency will contact him to draw up the list of people he could have contaminated. These people will then receive a call to inform them that they are “contact cases”.
Step 6: If you are in contact with a proven risk, isolate yourself and be tested
"If the risk is proven, that you have shared a lunch for example without respecting the rules of distancing, you will be invited to stay at home in isolation, as for a sick person," explained Olivier Véran. You will need to take your temperature twice a day.
If the person is active, they will have to telework. And if she cannot, a work stoppage will be sent to her. Seven days after the last suspected contact with the identified patient, it will be necessary to be tested. Why 7 days? "It is the right time to flush out the virus, before, it may be too early to find it," said the minister.
Step 7: If there is a negative contact case… wait again
If the person identified as a proven risk contact case is tested negative, they will have to wait an additional 7 days on average before breaking their isolation. But in certain cases, not specified, the doctor may lighten this device.
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