22,371 more cases per day, big screening of students across France at the end of winter break! How long will the curfew last?

As of the afternoon of the 20th, the number of confirmed cases of Newcastle pneumonia in France reached 3583,135, with 22,371 new cases in 24 hours; the total number of patients who died of the disease was 84,147, an increase of 183 cases.

In a television interview Saturday, French National Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer called on students and parents to "take responsibility" and remain vigilant about the New Coronavirus outbreak during the holidays.

He also mentioned in the TV interview that the coming weeks and the next school year remain under the threat and shadow of the New Coronavirus and its various variants.

In this interview, Blanquet affirmed that "according to studies, students are more likely to contract the New Coronavirus during the holidays than during their school years."

So the education minister, who has been pushing a policy of avoiding school closures, believes that March 8 could bring a small wave of an epidemic as schools open one after another across France. That's why the minister warned everyone to be careful against the virus during the holidays.

School district A in France will open on Monday, February 22, while school districts B and C will open on March 1 and 8, respectively. Health Minister Villein has assured that students will be significantly tested for saliva virus at the beginning of the school year.

France plans to conduct 200,000 tests in schools each week. Beginning Monday, students in District A will begin receiving saliva tests, and testing will begin for students in other school districts in the next few weeks. The government plans to conduct 50,000 to 80,000 tests among students next week.

Like the nasopharyngeal swab test used in France for nearly a year, the saliva test is designed to detect the presence of the New Coronavirus in the body at the time of testing, only it no longer requires a cotton swab in the nose. Although the saliva test is less effective than the nasopharyngeal test, it is still up to 85% effective.

According to the World Health Organization's recommendations, the saliva test must be done by taking a sample at least 30 minutes after drinking, eating, smoking or brushing your teeth. And it can be done independently, simply by spitting into a vial. In kindergartens, for children under 6 years old, a collection tube can be placed under the tongue to collect saliva and the sample sent to the laboratory.

Following the recommendations of the French Health Authority, saliva measures are used in two main situations. The first is for mass screening of asymptomatic populations, for example for testing in schools, universities, high schools and colleges. Secondly it can also be used for contacts of cases and for suspected cases with symptoms, but as far as possible as a substitute when nasopharyngeal testing is not possible.

As the epidemic data tends to stabilize relatively, there are calls from across France to ease the restrictions. More than a month after the national introduction of a 6 p.m. curfew, many French people have grown tired of the curfew's restrictions on their lives. Although the French government seems to be interested in making the measure permanent, many local officials have called for an end to the curfew.