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Self-tests, PCR, antigens, at the time of the epidemic resurgence, almost everyone wants to be tested. Reunions of family or friends play a big part in this end of the year. Pharmacies and analytical laboratories are taken by storm.
In this Clermont-Ferrand pharmacy, the appointment schedules are complete from morning to night. An antigen test is performed every five minutes. For the past ten days, the number of positive cases has increased significantly. “Yesterday we were over 30% positive, which is absolutely colossal for us”, indicates Philippe Coulon, managing pharmacist.
For people who are positive for antigenic tests, the next step is the PCR test. The nurse samplers of this drive practice more than 600 per day at the moment. “There are more and more stops, more and more people who are contact cases and therefore more and more people who come and get tested”, notes Mélis Acierik, sample nurse. These more reliable tests confirm the trend observed in pharmacies: currently nearly one in four people tested is positive. First detected on December 5, the Omicron variant now accounts for nearly half of positive cases.