It was necessary to be patient this Sunday in front of the lab in the Sablon district in Neuilly-sur-Seine, one of the only analysis laboratories near Paris open this Sunday. More than 4 hours of waiting for the bravest who got up early. For latecomers, it will be necessary to try again another day.
However, many people came to be tested for "valid" reasons. "Contact cases", patients showing symptoms or employees having to plan a professional trip abroad.
"I am leaving for Germany on Tuesday for my work and I need a test of less than 48 hours otherwise I will be quarantined on my arrival" explains François, 50 years old. "It is the only lab open on Sundays that I have found", continues this inhabitant of Saint-Cloud. “I arrived at 8:15 am and I have at least a 5 hour wait. I think my company is going to stop business travel abroad, it's much too complicated ”.
A queue of several hundred meters
The queue is impressive. It is several hundred meters long and surrounds the large buildings on avenue Charles-de-Gaulle. A family who arrived shortly before 7:00 had to wait 2:30 before being able to enter the lab. Lucas is a "contact case". A person close to him tested positive for Covid-19 during his vacation. "I was contacted by health insurance, confirms the young man, I tried to be tested on vacation, but there were no more places", explains this inhabitant of Puteaux. “I already tried my luck here yesterday but there was no room either. So this morning I came at 8:00 am. I've been waiting for 1 hour 30 minutes, and I think I still have a long time to go… ”