This Monday began in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), the first French screening campaign for the Covid-19 virus at the scale of an urban area.
Fifty-four municipalities are concerned, which represents nearly 270,000 inhabitants.
A choice that owes nothing to chance, since the sector was particularly affected by the second wave of the epidemic with, in certain areas, an incidence rate that exceeded 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
"It is also an agglomeration which has the particularity of having a very urban center and a much more rural periphery, which can be rich in lessons," says Thomas Deroche, the regional director of the Regional Health Agency (ARS ) Norman.
To carry out this week of free tests, doctors, laboratories and pharmacies have been mobilized.
Companies (the Grand Port Maritime, Safran, etc.) have joined in.
Four high schools have been designated screening centers for National Education.
And around twenty temporary locations have been set up in Le Havre and in eight surrounding municipalities.
With logistics which is based on a partnership between State services and local elected officials, as Jérôme Dubost, the vice-president in charge of health, also mayor of Montivilliers (Seine-Maritime), underlines: “He has We had to organize everything in two weeks, which seemed almost impossible to us at the start.
But everyone's mobilization made it possible to achieve this.
"
In total, more than 800 people (medical staff, student nurses, members of civil protection, civil servants, elected officials, etc.) were distributed to each sampling site.
It remains to be seen whether the population will be there.
In Liverpool, where a similar campaign was carried out in November, a third of the population could be tested.
"I don't know if I would have come if I hadn't had a doubt"
What will happen to Le Havre?
This Monday, queues are rare.
At least in the city center.
“In my town, at the end of the morning, there was a short hour of waiting,” reports Jérôme Dubost, on the contrary.
At the Magic Mirrors in Le Havre, a place more used to hosting concerts, Henry only took about twenty minutes to receive his result since, overwhelmingly, these are antigen tests - faster but much less reliable than PCRs. - which are practiced.
Negative.
" I am relieved.
I felt like I had symptoms ”.
He came from the university located not far from there.
“I don't know if I would have come if I hadn't had a doubt,” he admits.
Near the station, another test center welcomes the public in a temporary structure.
Here again, the volunteers arrive in a trickle.
Eric and Farid observe the scene, a little behind.
Are they going to get tested?
Frankly, Eric replied in the negative.
“If I had a fever, why not?
But there, no.
If I'm ever positive, what happens?
Can I come out?
I don't want to get stuck.
"
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A situation that Thomas Deroche regrets: “We focused a lot on hotel rooms, isolation outside the home, while it is a small minority of cases.
The goal here is really to save time if a case is positive and to provide advice on how to isolate yourself at home.
And if the person has specific needs so as not to leave their home, such as driving their children to school or shopping, a dedicated platform can offer solutions to prevent them from going out, in conjunction with the municipalities.
".
It remains to convince the people of Le Havre.
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A similar operation is taking place in the Ardennes.
The target is the urban community which brings together the two main towns of the department, Charleville-Mézières and Sedan, ie 123,000 inhabitants.
Free screenings are scheduled until Friday, as well as from December 21 to 23 and from December 28 to 30.
Two other territories should attempt the same operation in January: Roubaix (North) and Saint-Etienne (Loire).