[ad_1]
Twenty-two schools have been closed in France and on the French island of La Reunion in the Indian Ocean due to the coronavirus as cases in the country rise.
More than 12 million students returned to classrooms in France on Tuesday, but some parent-teacher unions have raised concerns about the reopening of schools as a result of the spread of COVID-19 accelerates.
There have been more than 7,000 new infections in France over a 24-hour period for the second time in two days after the summer holidays, the highest daily rate in Europe.
This is close to the country’s record of 7,578 set on March 31.
It is well above the several hundred daily cases reported in May and June, when France was coming out of lockdown and examining fewer people.
The number of people in intensive care with coronavirus it is also rising, but is well below the crisis levels of March and April.
More than 30,600 people with the virus have died in France, which has one of the highest mortality totals in Europe after Britain and Italy.
French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer confirmed the closure of schools and told Europe 1 radio: “In mainland France there are currently 12 schools closed out of a total of more than 60,000, which is a small number.
“Adding 10 schools in La Reunion (island), that makes 22”.
In defense of the decision to send students to school across the country, Blanquer told the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche: “Not everything should be destroyed by the health situation.
“We must be vigilant, but without forgetting the educational and social imperatives, nor deviating from our two objectives: improving the educational level of each child and reducing inequalities.”
Government guidelines say that students 11 and older should wear masks in French schools, but a group of medical professionals argued that it should also apply to children 6 and older.
Laure Gevaert, whose daughter studies in Saint-Leu-d’Esserent, north of Paris, supported the children returning to class, saying: “I prefer her to go to school.
“Homeschooling is not easy and I have to work too.”
:: Subscribe to the daily podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker
But he also said the threat of a second wave was alarming.
“If there are cases in the school, that will worry me. I will not send it,” he added.
Authorities are also encouraging people to go back to work, as the French government unveiled a € 100 billion (£ 88 billion) recovery plan aimed at creating jobs and saving struggling companies.
France is currently on the UK’s travel quarantine list, which means that anyone entering the country must isolate themselves at home for 14 days.
Earlier this week, students from England and Wales returned to classrooms for the start of the fall term amid the pandemic.
