Saliva tests are coming to school. From Monday February 22, these tests will be deployed in schools in zone A. For the others, it will be necessary to wait for the return from vacation.
A goal of 200,000 tests per week. Starting Monday, students in Zone A will no longer have to worry about the swab in their nose as they can do saliva tests. Thus, the target is between 50,000 and 80,000 tests "from this week", said Education Minister Jean Michel Blanquer.
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A result within a few hours
Unlike the 95% reliable PCR test, saliva tests are a little less reliable (85%). However, these tests only apply to kindergarten and elementary school students for whom the swab in the nose was unpleasant or painful. As soon as they arrive at school, children will have to spit into a vial which will then be analyzed in the laboratory. For the youngest who cannot spit, the saliva sample will be taken directly from their mouth by the health professional. Fast and painless! The results then arrive a few hours later.
If the test is positive, the student will be notified before 8 a.m. the next day so that they do not show up for class.
In this case, a screening will also be carried out to look for strains originating from an English or South African variant. In addition, saliva tests will not be mandatory, it will require parental consent beforehand. For zone B (Nice, Marseille, Lille, etc.) and zone C (Montpellier, Paris, Toulouse, etc.), screening will begin on March 1 and 8 respectively.