Coronavirus: Four in 10 homeless people in Paris region have Covid

Over three times as many cases among people sharing bathrooms with over five people

Forty per cent of homeless people in greater Paris have been infected with coronavirus, a new study has found.

The figures come after 818 homeless people were tested at 14 separate Doctors Without Borders (MSF)-run facilities between 23 June and 2 July.

“This disease has hit the disadvantaged hard,” Jean-François Delfraissy, the head of France’s scientific council, told a French radio station today.

The research, a combined effort from MSF, Epicentre and the Institut Pasteur, took place at 10 emergency shelters, two food distribution points and two workers’ hostels located in Paris and its suburbs.  

By exploring, specifically, Covid-19 seroprevalence – the percentage of people who have been in contact with the virus and developed antibodies – the study found the rate at which people living in overcrowded and poor conditions have come into contact with the virus is exceptionally high. 

“We were surprised at just how prevalent the virus was at certain places,” Thomas Roederer, an epidemiologist at Epicentre and co-author of the study, told French media over the weekend. 

There were variations between the 14 sites, though, owing to the number of people present and their physical proximity. At one of the food distribution sites, 18 per cent of those tested had the virus while 35 per cent tested positive at the other. At emergency shelters, the figures ranged from 23 per cent to 62 per cent. The bleakest positivity rate, however, was among those tested at the two hostels: 82 per cent and 94 per cent.  

In the emergency shelters, one in two of the 543 people tested had been in contact with coronavirus and developed antibodies. This compares to one in 10 people found to have the new coronavirus antibodies across the whole Île-de-France region, according to a recent report conducted by Santé Publique France.

Cramped living and sleeping conditions are one of the main reasons for coronavirus’ disproportionate prevalence among those most vulnerable, economically and socially. This is proven, the study says, by the fact people who had been temporarily housed in gymnasiums during the pandemic had a prevalence of the virus that was three times higher than those housed in less crowded types of accommodation.

The new study shows how much being in an abnormally crowded living space maximises the risk of transmission. From those included in the research, there were 4.3 times more coronavirus cases among people sharing a room with more than five people than among those with a room to themselves.

A homeless man sleeps in front of closed shops in Paris on 17 April 2020 during the first coronavirus lockdown (AFP via Getty Images)

There were also 3.1 times more cases among those who share a bathroom with more than five people than among those who have their own bathroom.

This is all despite the fact that the majority of survey participants said they had used preventive measures, such as frequent hand washing and wearing face masks, and followed social distancing advice wherever and whenever they could. 

The survey’s findings indicate that, with a second spike of the virus well underway, homeless people urgently need to be found suitable accommodation that will not put them at increased risk of catching Covid-19, according to MSF.

“With winter coming, the emergency measures implemented to provide homeless people with temporary shelter must not be allowed to contribute to forming new clusters,” Corinne Torre, MSF head of mission for France, said in a statement upon the study being released. 

“Hotels and accommodation with individual living spaces, which enable the necessary precautions to be applied effectively, are far preferable to communal facilities such as gymnasiums, which should be used only as a very last resort," she added.

On Sunday, France reported over 16,000 new coronavirus cases - including 46 deaths. These latest figures take the country’s total death toll up to 32,683 and number of cases to 735,000. 

Jean Castex, France’s prime minister, said in an interview on Monday that “nothing must be ruled out” when asked about potential local lockdowns across the country.