Primary and kindergarten students are back in schools Monday in France. According to the protocol of the Ministry of National Education, a class will be closed as soon as a case of Covid is detected. Jean Castex assured Sunday that the Brazilian and South African variants were not very present on the territory, but the concern remains great. Follow the evolution of the situation live.
Back to school day (and worry) for the 6.5 million kindergarten and primary students (and their parents), this Monday, in France.
Saliva tests are deployed in schools to prevent Covid-19 contamination from rising again and, according to the protocol of the Ministry of National Education, a class will be closed from the first case detected.
This re-entry is indeed part of a tense context, while the tension remains very high in the French intensive care services.
Follow our live.
The main information to remember
6,000 patients are in intensive care in France
Kindergarten and elementary school students return to school
Jean Castex ensures that the Brazilian and South African variants are not very present in France
The Indian variant worries as India records a record of contaminations
Back to school day for nursery and primary
Three weeks after the closure of schools in France, 6.5 million primary and kindergarten students are returning to class on Monday morning.
A comeback which is obviously accompanied by a lot of concerns.
Some 400,000 saliva tests must be deployed on Monday and their number should increase every week, according to the announcements of Nathalie Elimas, Secretary of State in charge of Priority Education, Sunday evening on Europe 1. In addition, the government announces the order of 64 million self-tests, intended for teachers, school staff and high school students.
According to the established protocol, a class will be closed as soon as a case of Covid is detected there.
The middle school and high school students will resume in distance from this Monday, but face-to-face from Monday, May 3, with adapted gauges.
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Hospital pressure remains strong
218 patients were admitted to intensive care on Sunday, or 130 admissions less than the day before.
But hospital pressure remains strong, with around 6,000 patients in intensive care.
145 deaths from Covid-19 were recorded on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths since the start of the epidemic in France to 102,858.
Around 25,000 new cases of Covid were also detected on Sunday.
Brazilian and South African variants not very present in France
According to statements by Prime Minister Jean Castex on Sunday, the Brazilian and South African variants are "very few and tend to regress".
Despite everything, Olivier Guérin, member of the Scientific Council and head of the geriatrics pole of the University Hospital of Nice, calls for "extreme vigilance" on the subject.
Jean Castex was at Roissy airport on Sunday to see the implementation of the new protocol for the arrival of travelers from five countries at risk: Brazil, India, South Africa, Argentina and Chili.
Arrivals must be tested and placed in quarantine for ten days from arrival.
World record of contaminations in India
India has recorded nearly 350,000 people infected in a single day, the world record for contamination. The country of 1.3 billion people is failing to contain the epidemic outbreak. Faced with this "storm", to use the image of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, local authorities have extended the confinement in force in New Delhi by one week. "The devastation of the coronavirus continues and there is no respite," lamented the head of government of the capital Arvind Kejriwal.
In hospitals, witnesses describe corridors cluttered with beds and stretchers and families begging in vain for oxygen or a place for their dying loved ones.
On Sunday, the United States announced that it would "immediately" ship components for the production of vaccines as well as medical equipment to India.
The UK and the EU have also pledged aid.
The Elysee has promised for its part a "significant oxygen support"
More than three million deaths in total
The Covid-19 pandemic has killed at least 3,100,659 people around the world, according to a report drawn up on Sunday evening. The United States is the country with the highest death toll with 571,921 deaths, followed by Brazil (389,492), Mexico (214,853), India (192,311) and the United Kingdom (127,417). Among the hardest hit countries, Hungary is the one with the highest death toll relative to its population, followed by the Czech Republic.