PARIS (Reuters) – French education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said on Friday 22 schools were closed in France due to cases of COVID-19.

“In mainland France there are currenly 12 schools closed out of a total of over 60,000, which is a small figure. Adding 10 schools in La Reunion (island), that makes it 22,” Blanquer told Europe 1 radio.

As over 12 million pupils returned to school in France on Tuesday some parents and teachers’ unions have voiced concern at plans for reopening classrooms as the spread of the virus gathers renewed pace.

The heath monistry said on Thursday it had registered more than 7,000 new coronavirus infections over 24 hours for the second time in two days, just shy of a 7,578 record set on March 31, while hospitalisations for the virus also rose again.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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