Objective achieved, even exceeded. The Minister of Health confirmed this Thursday at a press conference that the target of 700,000 weekly tests, initially set by the government, had been largely exceeded. This week, 840,000 tests were performed, the goal now being to exceed the milestone of one million weekly tests.
According to Olivier Veran, France is among the top 10 countries that screen the most in the world and "the results are accessible 80% of cases within 36 hours".
Looking more closely at the screening policies carried out throughout the territory, it appears that the situation varies substantially from one department to another. Whether it's the entire period since deconfinement or even the past week.
Which departments have tested the most since early May?
Santé Publique France publishes data on the number of PCR tests carried out by department since the start of deconfinement, which began on May 11, 2020.
It can be noted that the screening policy has been particularly important in metropolitan areas. Among them, the Paris region, the Rhône, the North and the Bouches-du-Rhône have detected more than elsewhere.
Where the epidemic raged, in the Grand-Est especially during confinement, it seems that the testing policy was less between the month of May and the end of August.
These figures should be qualified if we relate the number of screenings to the population of these regions. The Grand-Est thus appears to have been particularly vigilant, including after the deconfinement.
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The same is true for Mayenne and Guyana, where large clusters were fought over the entire summer. This phenomenon illustrates the targeted policy endorsed by the authorities in the second phase of the fight against the epidemic.
The situation in Paris, Marseille and Hauts-de-Seine thus shows the conjunction of a vast screening policy and a large population.
The departments most tested last week
Last week, from August 17 to 22, is a good illustration of this phenomenon of an intense and targeted screening policy. A map that displays a form of consistency, especially in the most populous cities.
Here too, the Paris region, the Bouches-du-Rhône and the North appear particularly active. A consequence of the resurgence of the epidemic observed in these departments, still intense at the end of August.
A testing policy that varies according to incidence, but not only
Logically, the more the spread of the epidemic is developed on a territory, the more it is inclined to test.
This trend is particularly striking when comparing the two figures, including those related to the number of inhabitants. Particularly in the Bouches-du-Rhône, where we see the conjunction of an incidence and a much more active screening policy than elsewhere.
The situation is still more nuanced than it seems. Some departments test less than others, in view of recent developments in the epidemic on their territory: Guyana or the Rhône, but also, in Ile-de-France, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint- Denis and the Val-d'Oise.
Conversely, Sarthe and Mayenne, for example, show a tendency to test more intensively, a residue of the vast screening campaigns carried out following the identification of large clusters this summer in these two departments.