A record number of tests that bodes well for screening for the week of 25?
Certainly.
More than 6.2 million Covid-19 screening tests were carried out one week before Christmas, between December 13 and 19, according to figures released on Thursday by the Ministry of Health.
A record compared to the previous week, which had already seen the number of tests swell.
They are exactly 6.27 million French people to have carried out a test in one week, against 5.86 million from December 6 to 12, according to figures from the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees ).
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The number of tests carried out varies from one age group to another.
For example, it is rising sharply for 16-25 year olds and 26-40 year olds.
Conversely, those under 16 were around 10% less likely to be screened after their high activity between late November and early December.
La Drees notes in a press release that the results "show a decrease in the number of saliva tests in the youngest, in connection with the start of the Christmas holidays".
Alone, those under 25 have more than 3.2 million tests performed, or more than half.
The vast majority (97%) of tests of all types are validated in less than 24 hours after sampling according to the DREES.
A hellish pace for laboratories, and which should continue with the epidemic outbreak of the fifth wave.
As of Wednesday, more than 84,000 new cases were confirmed, and 361,000 detected were detected from December 13 to 19.