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MSF provides medical assistance in Covid+ centres in Paris and the suburbs

Most of the people admitted to Covid+ centres are homeless people sent from emergency shelters. When MSF mobile teams who intervene in these shelters diagnose someone as possibly having contracted the virus they try to test them——if they have the necessary kits.
From the medical perspective, we know the symptoms of the virus, so we can identify anyone suspected of having the disease. The Regional Health Authority then calls on the Red Cross, which handles transportation, to take them to Covid+ centres set up across Paris and the suburbs.

In Chatenay-Malabry Covid+ centre (Paris suburbs), there are places for 50 people with confirmed or suspected Covid-19. We provide social support and paramedical/medical care in partnership with NGO Alteralia. This includes checking vital signs: blood pressure, temperature and oxygen saturation to see whether people are breathing properly. We also give advice on hygiene, wearing a mask and hand washing to prevent the infection spreading to other people. We also give medical examinations and, when necessary, take care of patients requiring long-term treatment for other conditions. We monitor them regularly, so if all of a sudden someone who’s really struggling to breathe—remember, this isn’t a hospital so we don't necessarily have the equipment to keep them on oxygen for any length of time—requires further tests, this is the kind of person we call the emergency services for so that they can take them to the hospital.

MSF teams are on hand throughout the care chain: from the mobile teams, mobile clinic and care provided in the emergency centres through to the medical team who treat patients admitted to the Covid-19 treatment centres.

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