Paris (AFP)

France will go up to speed to carry out tests detecting the coronavirus, with "50,000 conventional tests" per day by the end of April, to which will be added "more than 100,000" rapid tests per day "in June," said Health Minister Olivier Véran on Saturday.

"France has placed an order for 5 million rapid tests which (...) will increase our screening capacity by around 30,000 additional tests per day in April, 60,000 in May and more 100,000 tests a day in June, "said Véran.

They will be added to the "50,000 classic tests" that will be carried out every day "by the end of April", against 12,000 currently.

The rapid tests "will give a result in a few minutes, 10, 15, 20 and sometimes 30 minutes depending on the tests considered," he said.

These new rapid tests are being developed, or even "are now operational for some of them," continued the minister, citing research in France, the United States, Japan or South Korea.

However, before deploying them, we must ensure their effectiveness, he stressed.

He cited "the unfortunate example of our Spanish neighbors who, having ordered hundreds of thousands of Chinese rapid tests, had the disappointment to realize that these tests were completely ineffective".

With regard to conventional tests, known as PCR, which require a few hours to render their results, "we went to 12,000 tests on a day like today", against "5,000 per day last week".

"We will be 20, then 25, then 30,000 tests within a week, and finally we will reach 50,000 tests per day by PCR by the end of April, in particular thanks to the implementation of several broadband machines across the country, "said the minister.

Finally, he mentioned the possible arrival "in the coming weeks" of a last type of tests, called "serology".

Lighter than PCR tests (a blood test is enough), they do not have the same objective: they aim to detect antibodies to determine afterwards if an individual has been in contact with the virus, and not if is ill at the moment T.

"We hope that the research will allow us to be ready to provide this type of fundamental examination for the French as we prepare for the deconfinement of France," said Véran.

In recent weeks, voices have been raised in France to deplore a number of tests that are too low, while the World Health Organization (WHO) has emphasized their importance in the fight against the disease.

© 2020 AFP