The minister, himself tested negative on Friday, also said that 80% of people who are tested had a result within 36 hours, and recalled that priority had been given to carriers of symptoms and contact cases.
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ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
Health Minister Olivier Véran said on BFMTV on Saturday that access to Covid-19 tests would improve within "two to three weeks", while the deadlines for samples and results have grown significantly in laboratories.
The minister, himself tested negative on Friday, also said that 80% of people who are tested had a result within 36 hours, and recalled that priority had been given to carriers of symptoms and contact cases.
Olivier Véran also asked "the scientific authorities to give an opinion on whether we can reduce" the period of isolation of 14 days, recommended for contact cases, considering that "this famous fortnight (...) is undoubtedly too long ".
Over a million tests performed every week now
"There is a delay in access to laboratories to be tested, queues in Paris or elsewhere and currently it takes an average of 3.5 days to be tested", admitted the Minister, during a interview with Ruth Elkrief.
"That the French be reassured, within two, three weeks at the latest, access to the tests will be facilitated", he promised, the current delays being attributable, according to him, to the many people who are being tested on their return from vacation.
"There are thousands of laboratories that are active, tens of thousands of people who work there and who are working hard week after week," he also explained, saying he could not "go beyond this. that (he) asks them in terms of speed ”.
More than a million tests are now carried out per week, or nearly 9 million carried out in all since the start of the epidemic, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
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