A race against the clock is underway to identify the zero patient, the one responsible for the coronavirus contamination of the 60-year-old Oise teacher who died during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. In all, 12 patients were identified in the department and 38 at the national level. Aurélien Rousseau, director general of the regional health agency of Île-de-France, guest of Matthieu Belliard in the morning of Europe 1, explains the method of "contact tracing", allowing to identify the person at the origin of contamination in the Oise.
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It is an approach worthy of a "police investigation". "In each case, you have to go back to the person's schedule, identify all the contacts they have seen, telephone these people, make the isolations," he lists, taking the example of the first two cases of people infected in France: "They arrived at [the hospital] Bichât at 6 pm. At 7 pm, there were ARS doctors who, until 3 am, replenished their agenda minute by minute since they were in Paris. Who they shook hands with, how far they were, how long they talked ... "
"Save precious days"
A process that is bearing fruit, according to the regional director of ARS. "It has saved these precious days since the start of the virus's arrival and that is what allows us, during this time, to prepare, plan, prepare the health system, to speak with all actors who will be mobilized, "he said. Before concluding: "This is why it is a foot-to-foot combat waged, especially in the ARS, to identify cases".
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