A negative antigen test, Thursday in a screening center in Nice -

F. Binacchi / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • From Wednesday until December 23, a massive screening operation is carried out in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes under the leadership of President LR of the region.

  • The mayors of Lyon and Villeurbanne Grégory Doucet (EELV) and Cédric Van Styvendael (PS) are relying on an opinion from the scientific council to question the relevance of the massive campaign organized by Laurent Wauquiez.

The green mayors of Lyon and socialist of Villeurbanne have decided not to bow to the president LR of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, ultra-mobilized in recent weeks on the health crisis of the coronavirus.

As the vast screening campaign organized throughout the region by Laurent Wauquiez begins this Wednesday, with more than two million tests ordered, 15,000 people mobilized and 2,600 dedicated centers, the relevance of this operation is once again questioned by Grégory Doucet and Cédric Van Styvendael.

But to support their arguments, the mayors of Lyon and Villeurbanne are now relying on an opinion from the scientific council, which they had recently requested on this subject.

"An unrealistic mass testing campaign"

The latter gave his opinion in a letter signed by its president, Jean-François Delfraissy, sent on December 14 to the two elected officials.

The scientific council indicates "that a mass testing campaign at national level does not seem realistic to it" since the operation would have to be repeated every two weeks "to have a real impact, given the incubation period and the virus transmission times, ”said the city hall of Lyon on Tuesday.

The council also stresses that it is logical to consider now a "broad screening strategy at the beginning of January targeted at certain populations including young people and in certain territories", adds the same source.

To drive the point further, the mayors recall a note produced on December 12 by the same council, in which he warned the French about the notion of false security.

“Negative virological tests, in particular antigenic tests given their lower sensitivity, do not allow an infection to be ruled out and the application of barrier gestures remains essential in this case”, re-call elected officials.

A direct allusion to the antigenic tests ordered en masse by Laurent Wauquiez for this week of massive screenings.

Mayors are planning screening operations at the start of the year

Confirmed by this opinion from the Scientific Council, the town halls of Lyon and Villeurbanne stress that they will adapt the methods of opening their test centers to implement screening operations in early 2021, after the holidays and family reunions, under the guidance of the Regional Health Agency.

Until then, the centers that have been open for months at the Palais des sports in Lyon and at the Gratte-Ciel sports hall in Villeurbanne will remain accessible to the public free of charge.

They will be exceptionally closed on December 25 and 26, as well as on January 1 and 2, adds the Lyon municipality, whose position on this subject joins that taken by the Minister of Health on the announcement of massive screenings.

In mid-November, Olivier Véran then denounced an “announcement effect” by President LR of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes of which the competent authorities had not been informed.

One point at least that Laurent Wauquiez can easily dispute since the operation does indeed begin this Wednesday.

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  • Coronavirus

  • epidemic

  • Covid 19

  • Laurent Wauquiez

  • Lyon

  • Health

  • Screening

  • Gregory Doucet