Will teachers be called upon to pass saliva tests to their flocks as part of the massive screening launched by the government?
This is the fear of some, foremost among them the Snuipp-FSU, the majority union among school teachers.
This week, a note from National Education sent to a test establishment suggested that the personnel of National Education - teachers, therefore - should "supervise" these saliva tests.
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“I am not a laboratory assistant, I wasted enough time on the program to stick to the saliva tests!
It's a bit of the last straw, ”laments Hélène, a school teacher in the North.
"It's complicated logistics, since it is necessary, upstream of the screening, to obtain the agreement of the parents", adds Benjamin, director of a school in the Rhône which is hosting a screening this week.
Others also evoke the “fear of being infected” during the tests, which consist in handing a tube to the children so that they spit therein, before sealing it and giving it to a laboratory.
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“This raises a host of health questions: is there any protective equipment planned?
A cleaning of the premises used for the tests where the children will have emitted a multitude of postilions?
What ventilation instructions to prevent aerosolization
(Editor's note: the virus "travels" in the air through aerosols)
?
"Recalls Guislaine David, national delegate of Snuipp-FSU, who wonders about the" scientific strategy "to deploy these tests, which she does not call into question the principle.
On paper, everything will be fine
In the ministry, we can see the excitement caused by the information… which is largely tempered.
"It will be on a voluntary basis", insists the entourage of Jean-Michel Blanquer, indicating that school doctors and nurses can also be called upon.
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If the staff of the National Education do not wish to participate, "the academic director can request reinforcement from the ARS", specifies the National Education, which specifies that each screening will be "supervised by a laboratory technician", who will provide the equipment. necessary.
Rue de Grenelle, we also brandish surveys carried out by rectorates with teachers and parents, which show support for massive screening of 85%.