The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, said on Saturday that the government intends to give itself the means "to evolve rapidly on the screening strategy" for the coronavirus so as to be able to "multiply the tests when we lift the containment".
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Saturday March 21
Currently, given the scale of the epidemic, severe cases and people at risk benefit primarily from screening. According to the Ministry of Health, only 2,500 tests can be performed daily. Consequently, the contamination figures are most likely underestimated. "We are working with all manufacturers to increase these capacities as soon as possible," said the minister.
>> READ ALSO - Coronavirus: new screening tests ten times faster arrive in France
Massive use of tests in South Korea
By way of comparison, South Korea is the country that has used the most massively screening tests, with a daily capacity of around 10,000 tests. His strategy then consisted in identifying the sources of contamination as quickly as possible in order to target covid-19. Asked about this during his press conference, Olivier Véran said: "Screening does not prevent the spread of the virus. Screening does not prevent an epidemic [...] Containment is the only possibility of curbing things."
The Scientific Council, created by the government to advise it on the Covid-19 crisis, should decide next Monday on the duration and extent of the confinement of the French population.