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

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