Frédéric Michel (in Nice), edited by Solène Leroux 13:38, December 22, 2021

The authorities recommend screening before joining relatives for the holidays, especially if you have been in a risk situation.

The message has passed, the French are flocking to pharmacies, taken by storm as in Nice where some wait long minutes before being able to be tested.

The end of the year celebrations again marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.

While the fifth wave has hit France for a few weeks, it is recommended to get tested before celebrating with family or friends, especially if you are in doubt about a contagion.

The message got through, as there are long lines in front of laboratories and pharmacies at the moment.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, the incidence rate is more than 900 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and there are crowds in front of several pharmacies in Nice today. 

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Have a serene Christmas

It is not uncommon to see queues overflowing on the sidewalks, such as at the Riviera pharmacy, a stone's throw from the train station.

"It's been an hour for a PCR test because I'm traveling to Italy tomorrow for the holidays. Of course I have to do it, but it's a long time", impatiently a woman who seeks to do a test.

A little further on, a student explains that he is "contact case [his] promotion": "There are eight cases at once, well obliged" to be tested.

A "very sick" woman seeks to be tested, because her "doctor [asks] to verify that it is not the Covid".

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But Hélène, she decided to be tested to spend her Christmas serenely with the family.

"I decided to be tested because it is soon the Christmas holidays, so as I am going to see my family again, I said to myself that it is better", she explains at the microphone of Europe 1 . "I must have been standing in line for 15 minutes, but I take my trouble patiently."

Crazy cadence

For several days, pharmacies and laboratories have been taken by storm.

"There is a rush, especially at the beginning of the week, Monday, Tuesday and weekend for departures also at weekends, it's madness", testifies Abdelaziz, preparer at the Paris pharmacy on avenue Jean -Doctor.

"Whether it is PCR or antigen, that's fine. Since the 24-hour restriction, we don't stop, it's the race," he assures, with reference to the validity of the tests, reduced since the end. November.

And until Friday, Christmas Eve, the pace should not slow down, some preferring to wait until the last minute to be tested, thinking thus limiting the risks.