A drive-in to be tested for Covid-19 in a quarter of an hour opens in Montluçon

It is a drive-in of a new kind that opened this Wednesday in Montluçon, in the parking lot of the Saint-François private hospital. It is possible to be tested for Covid-19 and to obtain the results in a quarter of an hour.

Of antigenic tests are performed there: these tests considered a little less reliable than PCR tests but which deliver their results in 15 minutes. According to Bénédicte Bidet, co-president of the Syndicat des pharmaciens de l’Allier and one of the organizers of this screening center, the tests “made in France ““drive-in are however very reliable:” _If the result is negative we can be 100% sure_, on the other hand if the test is positive there is a margin of error of 5%.“

Open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays

At the wheel of her white city car, Séverine came to be tested this Wednesday morning. She felt “feverish“yesterday at work and his doctor asked him to be tested. It suits him very much to know the result in a quarter of an hour:”So if I’m negative, I can go back to work tomorrow, no need to wait 48 hours or more.“

The test is done directly in the car, through the window. As with PCR tests, a swab is pushed into a nostril, “for ten seconds,” explains Laetitia, nurse. The swab is then put directly into a reagent bottle and the results are known within a quarter of an hour.

For Séverine, the result is negative. The young woman said to herself “relieved“and knows she can go back to work tomorrow, if she feels better by then.”For those who are tested, it is much easier to organize themselves vis-à-vis their work or their family,“abounds pharmacist Bénédicte Bidet.

Relieve the laboratories

The other goal of this screening center is to relieve the laboratories, “we know they are overwhelmed, we want to help them as we can“says Bénédicte Bidet. The drive-in is managed by pharmacists and liberal nurses who have all volunteered.

Useful information

• Testing center open between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. every day of the week.
• By appointment, see your doctor or pharmacist.
• People over 65 with symptoms suggestive of Covid-19 are not eligible.

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