“I've been waiting for two hours to get tested,” blows Alexane, a business and psychology student, who came to take a test after being in contact with friends who are positive for Covid-19.
Arriving early, she thought to shorten her wait but on this public holiday, the laboratory located on Boulevard Charles-de-Gaulle in Neuilly-sur-Seine is one of the few to open its doors without an appointment. Very early in the morning, the queue extended to rue Jacques-Dulud via rue d'Orléans.
A registration form passed "from hand to hand between patients"
In the queue, we take care as we can before being tested. Catherine listens to music to make the wait more pleasant, even if her back is failing her. "I heard that there was a three-hour wait, I'm not surprised, but more staff would be needed to meet demand," says the 50-year-old head of studies. On the other hand, I was surprised that a registration form passed from hand to hand between patients. "
Like her, many of them are waiting to be tested in order to be able to travel and are no more afraid than that that the virus will circulate again.
Coming from Gif-sur-Yvette (Essonnes), Meriam made the trip to this laboratory because she must go to Morocco urgently. “I haven't found any other laboratory open as it is on Assumption Day and I need the results quickly to leave,” says the 29-year-old maternal assistant.
"I have two colleagues who are affected by the coronavirus"
Further in the queue which has narrowed to the rue d'Orléans, Thibault reads a book while keeping a distance of one meter from the people around him. “It is August 15, the information on open laboratories is not very readable. I did not expect to see so many people ", says this official whose wife revealed a suspicion of Covid-19 and comes to be tested" as a precaution "in order to know if he has to go to the office on Monday, or not. And this, to avoid creating new clusters.
A digital consultant, Julia has just come to be tested because new cases have been identified at her workplace. "I have two colleagues who are affected by the coronavirus and for the safety of all the staff, the company has asked us to do a test," says the young woman accompanied by her boyfriend, who has also come to be tested.
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Since this Friday, Paris and the Bouches-du-Rhône have been classified, by decree, as “areas of active circulation of the virus”. For the capital, the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants is 65.7 cases and therefore exceeds the alert threshold set at 50.