Prioritization of tests "no longer works" in the face of rising "sanitary pressure"

The "prioritization" of screening tests for the coronavirus "no longer works" in the face of the increase in "health pressure", because symptomatic patients and contact cases now alone represent "a significant number" of tests to be carried out, recognized Thursday the Minister of Health in the Senate.

Olivier Véran, however, estimated that measures such as the 20 new test sites being deployed in Ile-de-France represented "effective arrangements" and assured that "laboratories are preparing to do even more tests tomorrow".

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"The prioritization requested in August worked, until it no longer works" 

The minister explained at the end of August that laboratories had to ensure faster access to tests for people with symptoms of Covid-19, people who have been in contact with a confirmed case and healthcare staff, even if it means asking other audiences, especially those who need a negative test to travel, to wait to be tested.

But "the more the health pressure rises, the more the number of positive people and contact cases rises, the more the priority public increases", he explained, before the commission of inquiry of the Senate on the health management of the epidemic of Covid-19.

"Faced with this, the prioritization requested in August worked, until it no longer works. It went very quickly," he added, during his more than three hours of hearing .

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"The delays" to have the results "are already reducing" 

However, he said that if the delay of test results in some metropolises was "problematic", this traffic jam was "not responsible for the current epidemic resumption".

"The deadlines are already reducing, in my opinion the next figures will be much better than the last," he also said.

On average, 55% of the results are delivered within 36 hours, and two-thirds within 48 hours, the minister said on Wednesday evening during a press briefing.

"If ever we were in difficulty despite" the new arrangements being made, "and if the number of priority cases were to become such that we were unable to meet the objective of reducing delays", the government could revert to "mandatory prescription" to be tested, which had been removed in mid-July.