In period of coronavirus pandemic, laboratories are our friends. as Health Minister Olivier Véran announced it at the end of the day on Friday March 7, 2020, the city’s laboratories are now authorized to perform diagnostic tests as for the Covid-19 infections. So far, only hospital laboratories were allowed to.
A measure that is added to the other decisions made and announced on Sunday March 8, 2020 and the first of them being the ban of public gatherings of over 1000 people until at least April 15, 2020. On March 6, 2020 already, the Health Minister announced that pharmacies will be allowed to create their own hand sanitizes. The Health High Authority allowed at the same time sample takings in the city in most laboratories.
Today, authorities clarify to our peers at Figaro that “samples ca be taken in most laboratories, but the analysis itself will be carried out in some labs enjoying the technical capacities to do so”. The Health High Authority adds in a decree on March 7, 2020 that “handling respiratory samples have to be performed in a BSL-2 laboratory” which is laboratories with a biological safety level.
But then, where can you be tested and for what cost? For the sample, allow €54 and 70% being refunded by the social security system. The rest of the price is reimbursed by health insurance policies. These tests have two clear goals: confirming a Covid-19 diagnostic in a suspicious case or checking if the healed patient is no longer contaminated by the virus and is no longer a threat for his entourage.
For the second case, allow a 48-hours period to find out if the case is healed and most of all, if the patient no longer have to stay confined to protect their entourage. Unfortunately, in case of detection, you’ll be cared the same way as for a still incurable virus: you can heal the symptoms but not the virus itself.
