The Grand Est will conduct a campaign of 400,000 “
rapid
”
antigenic tests
targeting mainly students before their departure for the All Saints holidays, the regional prefect, Josiane Chevalier, announced on Friday October 9.
Covid-19: rapid tests for mass screening
"
We have been able to acquire 400,000 of these tests
" which give "
a rapid result in about thirty minutes,
" Ms. Chevalier said at an online press conference.
"
This is an experiment,
" said the prefect, while the High Authority for Health (HAS) said Friday "
favorable
" to the use of these tests, faster than the reference test RT -PCR, as part of targeted screening operations (universities, nursing homes, etc.).
"
Our goal is to offer these tests
" to 210,000 students from the Grand Est "
before they leave on vacation
", she insisted.
The primary objective, "
is to offer it in universities
", continued Ms. Chevalier, specifying that the departmental delegations of the Regional Health Agency of the Grand Est (ARS), will identify "
the places where it can take place.
".
Read also: Covid-19: who was most affected during confinement?
"
Our second objective is also to use them in nursing homes, this time for professionals returning from vacation to prevent the virus from entering
" in these establishments, continued Ms. Chevalier.
The question also arises of using them in emergency services to determine "
Covid and non-Covid patients
", added the prefect.
"
The virus is still actively circulating
" in the Grand Est, where the contamination figures remain however better than elsewhere in France, even if the trend is on the rise, warned Ms. Chevalier.
The region was the first to be hit hard in the spring.
According to the ARS, 851 new cases had been identified Thursday in the Grand Est.