It could in theory accommodate up to 250 people per day.
But at the height of its activity, the antigenic testing center of Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) has hardly practiced more than a few dozen Covid-19 screenings per day.
The first of its kind in the department, it opened with great fanfare on November 4, in a youth space, in the Pleyel district on the edge of Saint-Ouen.
Visitors becoming too rare, it finally closed its doors on Wednesday, November 18.
The day before, according to our information, we had only carried out nine tests, only one of which was positive.
This closure is temporary, assure the municipality and the regional council, which pilot with the Red Cross the deployment of these centers in Ile-de-France.
The center must reopen quickly, but in another location, to offer its ultra-rapid tests, the results of which are known within a quarter of an hour.
The choice of a new location should be stopped in the coming days.
A site which should also benefit the inhabitants of Saint-Ouen
It was Mathieu Hanotin, mayor (PS) of Saint-Denis, who had campaigned to install this reception in the Pleyel district while the regional council was inclined for an establishment near the Saint-Denis station.
“We wanted to position it here so that it benefits the inhabitants of Saint-Ouen, explained the elected at the time of the opening.
We are near a metro station.
The neighborhood will host a lot of construction sites and workers in the coming months.
The challenge is that they can come here before going to work, if there is any doubt. ”
VIDEO. In Saint-Denis, the antigenic testing center gives the results in 15 minutes
The idea was also to balance the offer, while a large screening center is installed in the city center, at the Legion-d'Honneur room.
But the offer obviously did not find its audience, at least not in the space of two weeks.
On the side of the town hall, there is competition from pharmacies and other places, nearby, where the population can submit to a test.
In Seine-Saint-Denis, other antigenic test centers, free of charge and without appointment, have since opened their doors and allow testing near several stations in Noisy-le-Sec, Drancy, Le Bourget, Epinay-Villetaneuse, Le Raincy-Villemomble.
On the side of the regional council, we assure that attendance is better there than in Saint-Denis.