In a French nursing home, universal testing to beat the coronavirus
A member of a laboratory staff, wearing a protective suit and face mask, takes a blood sample for serological test on an employee of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
In a nursing home near Colmar in eastern France, the region hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, laboratory staff clad in full protective gear conducted blood tests as health authorities battle to slow infections among the elderly.
In France and other countries like Spain and the United State, the coronavirus has spread like wildfire through care homes, sending the number of fatalities spiralling higher.
More than a third of all COVID-19-related deaths in France have taken place inside retirement and nursing homes, prompting the government last week to order mandatory testing for all their residents and staff.
Laboratory staff, wearing protective face masks, work on blood samples collected from residents and employees of retirement homes (EHPAD) at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
The La Weiss home had registered several suspected COVID-19 cases but had hitherto been spared a major outbreak, staff said.
The six laboratory workers operated swiftly within the La Weiss home in Kayserberg, which lies beneath the Vosges mountains near the border with Germany, taking roughly 200 samples in two hours.
With staff unable to know who might be infected, residents have been confined to their rooms, unable to receive family and visitors, and barred from socialising with one another.
Coronavirus tests are seen at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
"If we can't see our families, what's the point of living?" one elderly resident told a Reuters photographer.
The region around Colmar was the epicentre of the virus outbreak in France and it has suffered the highest mortality rate.
Local authorities say they hope the tests will enable homes to adapt the strict confinement rules and ease the harmful effects of isolation on the elderly residents.
Laboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
(Reporting by Christian Hartmann; Editing by Richard Lough, William Maclean)
Laboratory staff work on blood samples collected from residents and employees of retirement homes (EHPAD) at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff displays a positive coronavirus test at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff, wearing a protective suit, takes a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing face masks, work on blood samples collected from residents and employees of retirement homes (EHPAD) at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA sign with preventive measures against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen on a door at the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannCoronavirus tests are seen at the Barrand medical laboratory in Colmar, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff takes a blood sample for serological test on an employee of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff, wearing protective suit and face mask, talks to residents as he collects blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff, wearing a protective suit and face mask, takes a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of a laboratory staff, wearing a protective suit and face mask, takes a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, take a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannA member of laboratory staff, wearing a protective suit, takes a blood sample for serological test on a resident of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian HartmannLaboratory staff, wearing protective suits and face masks, collect blood samples for serological tests on residents and employees of the La Weiss retirement home (EHPAD) in Kaysersberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in France, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
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