Covid-19: Slovakia tests 2/3 of its population, an example for France?

DECRYPTION

This is an idea that had already been debated in April, and quickly dismissed by the authorities: "We are not going to test everyone, it would not make sense," Emmanuel Macron said.

But at the time there was a lack of tests, not to mention that being negative for the new coronavirus on Monday does not mean that you are on Tuesday.

It would therefore be necessary to test often.

And now a European country, Slovakia, has just had the experience, a world first.

The government in Bratislava has tested two-thirds of its population.

This inspires French doctors because it would allow them to better understand the circulation of the virus ...

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A national first

The big problem right now with the coronavirus is the lack of knowledge about infections.

There are far too many cases, we no longer trace the chains of contamination so we do not know where the French are infected.

One of the solutions could be massive screening and Slovakia is the first country to have done so nationally.

Before this Eastern country, Chinese cities had already done it, Liverpool in England chose the same strategy and will achieve it in the coming days.

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The principle is simple: the population is invited to go to the analysis laboratories.

The tests carried out are those which have just arrived in France, the antigens, with a known result 15 to 20 minutes after the sample.

Participation is not compulsory and people who do not want to comply must stay in quarantine for ten days at home to be sure they come out negative.

The idea seduces in France

And this idea is making its way to us since one of the members of the Scientific Council, the epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet, spoke about it Wednesday evening on France 5 in the program

"It's an interesting idea, which needs to be deepened. You have to see whether logistically we would get there, and how we would put it in place," he noted.

"What Slovakia has done is to tell people we test you all, those who are positive you stay a week at home, and those who don't want to be tested you stay at home for a week too, like that we are sure that when you go out you are negative. This would allow the circulation of the virus to go down to such a level that we would find ourselves as we were, for example, in June, "the doctor predicted.

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Testing the entire population still requires significant logistics: Slovakia relied on 45,000 health professionals but also on the army and the police.

And it should be remembered that they are only 5 and a half million inhabitants.

But epidemiologists who have been calling for these massive tests for months, like Catherine Hill contacted on Thursday morning, are categorical: it is feasible in France.

In particular, it proposes to rely on local elected representatives.

"Why not, let's be bold"

Karine Lacombe, head of infectious diseases at Saint-Antoine hospital in Paris, was Thursday guest of Patrick Cohen on Europe 1 and was more measured.

She believes that the "extremely bold" measure could be useful provided it is well prepared and everyone is responsible.

According to her, "if we can test 60 and a few million people in France, but over a very short period, that is to say in less than a week - which requires extremely important material and logistical resources and that then, each one takes responsibility, why not. But I think that it first requires a good preparation, therefore a modeling of the impact that that would have, the means. Why not, let's be daring. But it would be very complicated ".

But she concedes that the massive use of antigenic tests could make it possible to better manage the epidemic: "This could make it possible to prepare the situation after. The virus will not have disappeared because the virus passes through the borders. So, to that moment, that also means that we screen all the people who arrive in France, we do a screening, an extremely effective tracing. There we see clearly that we are not efficient, that we are overwhelmed and so it could be interesting. "

These massive tests should also be repeated over time, every 2 weeks or every month, to finally know the level of infection in the population ... and finally stop chasing the epidemic.