Update from
Le Journal to Kevin's post 109 from 4/1 with google translation:
THE COLLECTIVITÉ PLAN TO TRACK THE WHOLE POPULATION
by Valentine Autruffe 04/04/2020
The territorial council meets in emergency on Saturday April 4 at 10 am to release two million euros to finance the implementation of a total screening of the population at Covid-19.
The territorial council will discuss this morning this unique project in France: to screen the Covid-19 for the entire population, a little less than 10,000 people. The cost of the operation is estimated at 2 million euros: a million investment in rapid testing machines, and a million in operation.
In concrete terms, the Collectivité currently calls on two local companies, Solutech and the Bio Pôle Antilles laboratory. The market would dispense with the rules of public procurement, the Com arguing the pressing urgency of the situation.
Solutech has already submitted a report to elected officials on existing screening systems, in order to highlight the one that would be the most suitable for the island. Saint-Barthélemy plans to use Cepheid GeneXpert machines, which claim sixteen tests per hour. The sample is taken through the nose using a kind of long cotton swab. This technology is about to be certified and already in use in many countries.
Each machine costs 110,000 euros, and has the advantages of being small, mobile, and easy to use. The cost of each test must be added to this amount. Now, if elected officials vote for their acquisition, it will still have to be obtained: Saint-Barthélemy is surely not the only territory in the world to want to acquire it, and volumes will be quite low. It is therefore necessary to position yourself as quickly as possible, especially since the delivery time can be long. A part of the risk therefore remains on the effective implementation of this project.
The population would be tested by a "drive" system, and at home for the elderly or those who cannot move. An antibody search campaign is also suggested, by blood test or fingertip pricking, performed by the laboratory. The population would be tested for free, and the Collectivity is working on the possibility of reimbursing part of the cost of the tests by social security, which is very uncertain to date.
A complete, more precise protocol will need to be developed with the ARS Guadeloupe Saint-Martin Saint-Barth, which gave a favorable opinion to the project.
These two million euros added to the budget would be taken from the lines planned for 2020 for the educational farm (500,000 euros) and for the electrification and strengthening of the network (1.5 million euros).
Besides having a precise vision of the spread of the virus on our island, and therefore being able to take appropriate measures, this experiment could then be used for other territories. If the inhabitants of Saint-Barthélemy were all tested within a few weeks, these tools could then be made available to neighboring islands. And with each suspected case of Covid-19, the patient would be immediately tested and quickly fixed.