The residents at the Weiss nursing home in eastern France want to chat face to face, to play board games, to share meals. And so each gave a vial of blood to be tested for the coronavirus, as did each staff member about 580 tests in all. The goal: to identify who must be isolated and who will be allowed the freedom to leave their rooms.

An Associated Press photographer spent two days chronicling the virus testing at three of the 10 nursing homes in France's Haut-Rhin region, where comprehensive testing was ordered by local authorities.

Marie Lithard, right, and her neighbour Yves Chretien sit looking out of their rooms in a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP
Marie Lithard, right, and her neighbour Yves Chretien sit looking out of their rooms in a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP

Henry Voortmann has a test for COVID-19 by medical staff from a laboratory at a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP
Henry Voortmann has a test for COVID-19 by medical staff from a laboratory at a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP

Medical staff from a private laboratory arrive to test the residents at a nursing home in Kaysesberg, France. — AP
Medical staff from a private laboratory arrive to test the residents at a nursing home in Kaysesberg, France. — AP

An activity leader interacts with residents inside a room at a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP
An activity leader interacts with residents inside a room at a nursing home in Ammerschwir, France. — AP

Opinion

Editorial

Exit strategy
Updated 18 Mar, 2026

Exit strategy

MOST members of the international community, particularly states in the greater Middle East, are gravely concerned...
Unsafe trains
18 Mar, 2026

Unsafe trains

SUNDAY’S accident involving the Shalimar Express has once again brought into sharp focus the deep structural and...
Disappointment in Dhaka
18 Mar, 2026

Disappointment in Dhaka

FOR a side looking for lift-off after a disappointing T20 World Cup, it was despair for Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ...
Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...