France has moved on to the epidemic stage of the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases continues to grow every day. And, from time to time, amid the flood of information, alerts arise here and there to announce the contamination of this or that personality, political, sports or cultural.
World champion Blaise Matuidi, actor Idris Elba, Tom Hanks, ministers Brune Poirson and Franck Riester or 18 French deputies ... The list is not exhaustive and is growing regularly. So much so that one wonders under what conditions all these public figures are tested, when the majority of citizens will never take the test.
Stage 3 for everyone?
Monday March 16, Christian Estrosi could be satisfied. The day before, he had emerged at the head of the first round of municipal elections in Nice, with a comfortable lead over his opponents. But, while he was preparing a meeting, the elected official felt that everything was not going perfectly well. The appearance of the first symptoms, far from being serious, still alerted him. "We ended up learning that people with whom we were in contact had been infected with the virus," explains Laura Tenoudji, his wife, to the Parisian.
Even if their case did not seem particularly serious at first glance, both went to the Nice University Hospital. The doctors decided to test these two not-so-ordinary patients for coronavirus. A painless and rapid test, which delivered its conclusions four or five hours later: both are indeed infected with the virus.
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Since March 14, however, France has moved to stage 3 of the epidemic. While the strategy previously consisted of trying to identify and isolate all the sick, the country has now recognized that it is no longer possible to control the spread of the virus so closely and "concentrates its tests around four types of population ”, explains the Ile-de-France regional health agency. It's about :
- Fragile people with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, at risk of developing complications (respiratory failure, immunocompromised).
- The first two people with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 in medico-social structures, notably retirement homes, and in collective structures hosting vulnerable people, to take immediate measures to avoid transmission between residents.
- Hospitalized people with symptoms suggestive of Covid-19 because they need to be able to quickly understand the patient's condition and avoid transmissions.
- Healthcare professionals with symptoms suggestive of Covid-19
In all other cases, patients are therefore invited to remain confined to their homes and to turn to the doctors only if their state of health worsens. A priori, unless the health of the councilor of Nice raised fears of the risks of complications, the realization of a test did not seem therefore compulsory.
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“We went to the doctors because Christian is the mayor of Nice, with all that that means in terms of contacts, meetings, justifies his wife. He had to manage crisis meetings on the coronavirus, it was important to know. The fact that he is chairman of the CHU supervisory board also played a role. A few days before the test, Christian Estrosi notably visited an Ehpad.
"The rules are clear, there is no special treatment"
200 km away, at the University Hospital Institute (IHU) Méditerranée infection de Marseille, three prominent elected officials have been admitted to follow a treatment protocol implemented by Professor Didier Raoult. They are the deputy LR Guy Teissier, his colleague Valérie Boyer and the president of the Aix Marseille metropolis Martine Vassal. All three have also been tested positive for Covid-19, when they say, according to La Provence , to have no symptoms.
Again, it is difficult to know under what conditions these tests were carried out. In recent days, several MPs have been infected with the disease. Contacted, neither Valérie Boyer nor Professor Raoult responded to our requests.
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"I am a little surprised to learn regularly from the press of new cases detected, concedes doctor Michel Cymès. We are told that the tests are only for patients with serious symptoms. This is what I keep saying to all the people who call me because they have a fever. "
On the side of the health authorities, it does not seem more able to explain to us why these tests are carried out. “The rules are clear, there should be no special treatment, says a source. Why were these tests carried out? I can not tell you. Maybe when these patients say they have no symptoms they are still signaling. It is possible that the contacts of these highly placed people could play, we cannot exclude it. "
Idris Elba case raises questions in the UK
France is not the only country in which this debate is going up. In a video posted on March 16 on Twitter, actor Idris Elba announced that he had tested positive and said he was fine. "I got tested because I realized that I had been exposed to someone who had tested positive himself."
Screening methods differ depending on the country. In the United Kingdom, the authorities do not carry out systematic screenings. As in France, patients with mild symptoms are called to isolate themselves at home. So many Internet users wonder how Idris Elba was able to pass his test.
How did Idris Elba get a test if he's asymptomatic?
A question that answers itself.
In London, a London clinic is currently the subject of much talk. The very elitist "Private Harley Street Clinic" offers the sale of tests at the price of 375 pounds (407 euros). And the requests would be very numerous. A trend that creates in the country a two-speed health policy: one for the wealthiest classes, who can be tested at any time, the other for the rest of the population forced to stick to the rules defined by the NHS, the British public health service.
After having first multiplied the tests, Italy also decided to target the cases only on arrival in hospitals. A rule of principle that does not seem to have been respected for the players of Juventus Turin. After the announcement of the contamination of Daniele Rugani, the team and many members of the staff had been placed in quarantine. A total of 121 people. Samples were then taken, primarily from the players, before being analyzed. This is how the contamination of the French world champion could be detected.
NBA singled out
Controversy again, in the United States. While the country is sorely lacking in screening tests and 400,000 kits have been urgently ordered from Switzerland, a flock of basketball players have been able to be tested. After the announcement of a positive test carried out on the French player Rudy Gobert, the boss of the NBA had decided to suspend the season.
In the process, the teams hastened to pass tests on many players. What had the gift of annoying political leaders, like the mayor of New York Bill de Blasio, on Twitter. "The tests should not be for the wealthy but for the sick," he wrote. Before adding: “We wish them a speedy recovery, but […] an entire NBA team should not be tested for the Covid-19, when there are patients in critical condition waiting to be tested »
We wish them a speedy recovery. But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested.
Tests should not be for the wealthy, but for the sick. https://t.co/7uQlL3zc7Z
Several teams explained that they turned to private laboratories which they paid for themselves. The boss of the NBA ensures that the directives of the health authorities have been followed, adding that if Rudy Gobert had not been tested, the matches could have continued for several days, which would have further increased the risks.
Donald Trump does not seem upset by this form of inequality between leading athletes and ordinary citizens. Asked this Wednesday by an NBC journalist who asked the president if he found this normal, the American president gave a somewhat resigned response. Or not very interested: "No, I wouldn't say that, but it may be the story of life".