Affected by the English variant, Bagneux tests to find patient zero

Since Friday, the multipurpose communal room has been transformed into a large massive screening center in Bagneux. In this commune of Hauts-de-Seine, an animator working in two nursery schools contracted the English variant before the Christmas holidays, without it being possible to establish a link with a trip across the Channel. Teachers and regional staff from Henri-Barbusse and Maurice-Thorez schools, as well as those from Henri-Barbusse college were invited to perform a PCR test. Two hundred people immediately showed up and were tested. The next day, they were over 600. “We worked in conjunction with the regional health agency, explains the mayor (PCF) Marie-Hélène Amiable. The village hall has parking, it was easy to get everything set up quickly. “

“Everyone agrees that France is behind schedule”

As of January 8, therefore, five students from the AP-HP carry out the tests, supported by about fifteen administrative staff. On site, the coordinator of the local health contract and the mobile team from the Red Cross help the operation run smoothly. One line is reserved for priority people (families and children attending the schools concerned, elderly and disabled people, etc.) and another for all those who wish to be tested. In parallel, the town had launched a communication campaign via social networks, the municipal website and a poster on the walls of the city. “This is an epidemiologi that in order to see if the virus has been spread or not in the town, specifies Marie-Hélène Amiable. The concern is that patient zero has not been identified. “

For each person who tests positive, research into the British variant is immediately carried out. By the end of this week, the overall results should be known. “We also asked all the laboratories in the municipality to retest the positive PCRs”, specifies the mayor. The host of the town of Bagneux is the first indigenous case: she did not go to the United Kingdom. It is then a question of understanding who contaminated it, and not who it contaminated. It will then be necessary to move up a gear and to the stage of vaccination. “Everyone agrees that France has fallen behind, notes Marie-Hélène Amiable. But as early as December, many local elected officials had informed the government that they were available to make their contribution. “ The elected representative deplores the government’s failures concerning masks, screening, and today vaccination. “There is a problem of political objectivity, whereas it would be easy to rely on the living forces of local authorities, health partners and city doctors. With us, the reception for the vaccination can be fast and efficient. We must now move forward together with a clear action plan ”, she insists. By the end of January, 500 to 600 vaccination centers will be deployed across France, like the Covid-19 screening centers set up in recent months. “We applied to install some in the city”, informs the mayor of Bagneux.

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