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Covid-19: for the start of the school year, saliva tests are difficult

2021-03-01T14:31:54.577Z


Despite the objective of 300,000 saliva tests per week announced by the Minister of National Education, the organization of the screening campaign in schools remains hazardous for the moment.


Jean-Michel Blanquer has promised 300,000 saliva tests per week in schools by mid-March.

After the media announcements, the instructions concerning the deployment of coronavirus screening campaigns in establishments remain unclear.

Schools must, for lack of clear instructions, improvise while the students of zone C are back in class on Monday.

In the classes of zone A, which resumed there already a week, the tests were carried out dropper, despite the announcement Sunday February 21 of 50,000 tests:

“In the Grenoble academy, four establishments have were concerned, two schools in Bordeaux, two school groups in the Loire.

In the department of Vienne, saliva tests have been deployed in only one school, ”

lists Guislaine David, general secretary of the SNUipp-FSU union.

"Contrary to what has been announced, these tests are not done in a snap."

“An announcement was made on Sunday, without a feasibility study or field consultation.

Everything was done in improvisation ”

Gilles Tabourdeau, teacher

In fact, if the saliva test in itself is more accessible and less traumatic than a nasopharyngeal test, the screening campaign at school requires a well-honed organization.

The establishments must first obtain the written consent of the parents, before recovering the vital cards.

Then comes the deployment of tests, which was deployed

"in the greatest vagueness"

, according to Gilles Tabourdeau, teacher in Vienne and local representative of the SNUipp union.

“The announcement was made on the Sunday before the start of the school year, without a feasibility study or field consultation.

Everything rushed into improvisation, ”

says the teacher.

Read also: Will teachers have to perform saliva tests on their students?

Thus, the notice intended for the schools concerned provides for the presence of laboratory staff to accompany the school teachers and explain to them the collection of saliva.

"The laboratory staff will stay at the school for 1 hour to 1:30 at the most

,

"

adds the notice.

And then who should perform these tests?

The instructions vary according to the rectorates.

"

The teachers will indeed be trained to supervise, but it is the health personnel of the national education or the emergency services who will carry out these tests,

" said the Ministry of National Education in

Le Figaro

.

But according to the notice, the samples

"are to be done by school staff equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE)"

.

"

The professors will perhaps be brought to carry them out, but never obliged

", specifies the ministry near

the Figaro.

In other words, the organization between schools and laboratories remains unclear.

“Who, when, how?

We don't know

,

continues Gilles Tabourdeau.

The laboratory chosen to manage the countryside in Vienne is located in Vendée, more than 100km away.

It's confused."

Read also: Covid-19: has France taken too long to authorize saliva tests?

Mobile teams to carry out the tests?

National Education has declared that a school nurse must intervene "as much as possible" in support of these campaigns.

But school health workers doubt that they can really make the testing campaign more effective.

“There are only

7,400 nurses to cover 62,000 schools.

Even by giving up our other tasks of accompanying and caring for students, that would not be enough to achieve the objective set by the Minister,

”says Saphia Guereschi, general secretary of the SNICS-FSU union.

"We need mobile teams of qualified personnel who can organize the screening campaign effectively."

The national strategy for this saliva testing campaign raises questions.

“We have difficulty understanding the epidemiological approach from a scientific point of view.

Will some panel schools be tested regularly?

Will it be linked to the identification of a positive case in a school? ”

asks Guislaine David.

"For now, it seems that these are schools drawn as part of a communication campaign."

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-03-01

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