PARIS (Reuters) – Students in France will no longer be required to undergo a PCR test for the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 if they are in contact in their class and will only be able to perform self-tests, the Prime Minister announced on Monday , Jean Castex.
Asked about France 2, the head of government also said that the parents of students could now wait until they leave school to pick up their child if it is in contact.
“Our goal is to keep schools as open as possible, because we all know that it is in the best interests of the children,” he said, specifying that 10,453 classes had already been closed, or 2% of the total. “If (…) we closed a class in the first case, given the explosion of Omicron and the development of the pandemic, in a few days all the schools in France and Navarre would be closed.”
The health protocol in force until now provided for a PCR test for all the students in a class in which a child has been infected, then two self-tests respectively two and four days later, each time accompanied by a certificate. on the honor of the parents.
Coupled with the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant, this device has contributed to an increase in PCR tests across the country, with in particular long queues in front of pharmacies.
Jean Castex added that parents would now have to present only one certificate indicating that the self-test is negative so that their child can return to school.
(Report Bertrand Boucey and Camille Raynaud)
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