The number of coronavirus cases has increased significantly in France: 20 new cases in 24 hours, bringing the number of patients to 38. Among them, twelve have been identified in Oise, in Hauts-de-France, where lived the 60-year-old teacher who died on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. In the department, research is done in a very targeted manner.
Scientists are trying to follow the trail of the zero patient, the one causing the contamination of the teacher. A sort of investigation, which is carried out step by step, by epidemiologists. They are actually trying to piece together this man's agenda. Where did he go and most importantly, who did he meet?
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The runway at Creil air base
If these people show symptoms, a test is performed and an interview is conducted with each of them. How long did these meetings last? Have the contacts been reconciled? This information helps define the level of risk and identify other people who have potentially been in contact.
This constitutes an ant labor, which requires a lot of resources. In just a few days, from a patient, it can quickly affect hundreds of people. Hence the difficulty of identifying the patient zero. From now on, the question arises: is he not part of the civilian staff of the Creil air base, in the Oise, where the crews of the planes which have ensured the repatriation of the French from Wuhan are stationed? In this database, three cases have been identified.