[ad_1]
PARIS: Thousands of schools reopened across France on Tuesday (May 12) as the government eases its coronavirus blocking rules despite fears of a second wave of infections.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths in France increased by 348 or 1.3 percent to 26,991 on Tuesday (May 12), beating Spain’s 26,920, making France the country with the fourth highest number of deaths from the virus after the United States, Great Britain and Italy. .
Ad
The health ministry said in a statement that the number of people in the hospital with coronavirus infection fell to 21,595 again from 22,284 on Monday, continuing an uninterrupted downward trend that has lasted four weeks.
However, the elementary and nursery schools reopened, with teachers wearing face masks and separate child seats to avoid spreading the disease.
For Gregory Bouvier, director of a nursery school in Rennes, north-western France, it was all a bit “surreal”.
“It is not part of the DNA of a kindergarten to have children separated from each other who remain at their desks and cannot share things,” he told AFP.
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer praised the reopening, which will gradually roll out across the country, including schools in Paris on Thursday, before some high schools resume lessons next week.
To allay fears from concerned parents that the virus remains a sneeze, the government has given them the option of allowing their children to return to school or remain locked up in their homes.
Unions have criticized the decision to reopen schools as “premature.”
Some scientists and parliamentary deputies have also questioned the decision.
France began easing its two-month closure on Monday, with residents able to venture outside without getting a permit for the first time in nearly eight weeks, and some stores reopened.
But officials are on the lookout for developments in Germany and South Korea that have re-imposed some restrictions as virus cases increased after blocking measures eased.
READ: COVID-19: French primary school students return to class after eight weeks of confinement
CHECK THIS: Our comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its developments
Download our app or subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest updates on the coronavirus outbreak: https://cna.asia/telegram
