Lavoncourt (France) (AFP)
The saliva tests deployed at school to fight against the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic will be carried out by "health personnel" and not by teachers, Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer assured on Monday. a trip to a school in Haute-Saône.
Mr. Blanquer also said that France had "quite the means in terms of tests and logistical means" to arrive "by mid-March at the target of 300,000 tests per week" for the whole of the country. France.
"Everyone is in their profession, obviously the tests are carried out by health personnel", declared the Minister of Education on the sidelines of the visit to the Lavoncourt school, where "more than 90% of the families" were volunteers for their child to be tested on Monday.
The teachers' unions, who deplore a lack of organization and anticipation of this testing campaign, worried about the involvement of teachers to practice the tests.
A precise protocol has been defined and provides that "specialized personnel" from health health agencies, "national education health personnel", such as school nurses, but also other sectors such as "private laboratories" carry out tests on children, explained the minister.
"The rest of the national education staff can be volunteers to help in the supervision vis-à-vis the children or the administrative follow-up of what is happening", specified Mr. Blanquer, underlining the "beautiful mobilization of the personnel" .
This campaign of saliva tests in schools should make it possible to achieve "the fundamental objective which is that schools in France remain open".
And "to accomplish it well you have to carry out as many tests as possible," he insisted.
© 2021 AFP