The action she took to stop the virus from infecting and killing the vulnerable older adults in her care was both drastic and effective: Martin and her staff locked themselves in with the 106 residents.

For 47 days and nights, staff and residents of the Vilanova nursing home on the outskirts of the east-central city of Lyon waited out the coronavirus storm together.

Meanwhile COVID-19 killed tens of thousands of people in other homes across Europe, including more than 9000 in France.

"I said, 'No. Not mine. My residents still have so much to live for,'" Martin said.

"I don't want this virus to kill them when they have been through so much."

On Monday, Martin and 12 colleagues who stayed in the home for the full duration ended their quarantine with hugs of celebration and singing.

Coronavirus tests conducted on the residents and staff all came back negative.

The caregivers, who nicknamed themselves "the happily confined", left in a convoy of cars, joyously honking horns and heading for reunions with families, pets and homes.

"We succeeded," Martin said. "Every day, every hour, was a win."

While COVID-19 killed people by the dozens at some other homes, Martin said there were just four deaths at Vilanova during their lockdown and none appeared to have been linked to the virus.

The average age of residents at the home is 87 and the deaths were not unexpected, she said.

Because staff and residents were locked in together, Vilanova didn't have to confine people to their rooms like other homes to shield them from the risk of infection brought in from outside.

That spared residents the loneliness that has been agonising for others. Vilanova allowed residents to continue to mingle and to get fresh air outside.

Australian Associated Press