Paris (AFP)
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran visits a test laboratory in Saint-Denis on Saturday morning which has adapted its activity to the coronavirus epidemic, then will go to the Maison de la solidarité, crucial for the distribution of food aid, to announced his entourage to AFP.
This is Mr. Véran's first trip in a month, while the government is preparing the deconfinement plan to be unveiled next week.
In Saint-Denis, a poor commune on the edge of Paris, Mr. Véran is expected from 10 a.m. in a laboratory that performs PCR tests, that is, virological tests allowing to say that a patient is infected or not . The company had to reorganize its technical platform to meet the needs of the epidemic.
The government's objective is to be able to carry out 500,000 tests per week by the deconfinement on May 11.
According to Mr. Véran, France realizes "40,000 to 50,000 per day" at the moment. "We will be around 300,000 tests at the end of the week, that means that we have ramped up," he said on Friday morning on France Inter.
The challenge also lies in the imminent generalization of serological tests, awaiting approval. These blood tests tell whether a person has been infected with the virus, whether or not they have had symptoms, and the level of antibody developed that offers potential immunity.
Mr. Véran will then be accompanied by the Secretary of State for Solidarity Christelle Dubos to visit the house of solidarity, where they will be presented with the stock of foodstuffs and will exchange with associations (Emmaüs, Red Cross ...).
The government released Thursday an envelope of 39 million euros for food aid for the poorest households. In Seine-Saint-Denis, one of the poorest French departments, emergency food aid will represent 2.6 million euros and will benefit 25,000 households.
© 2020 AFP