France Orders Closure of 22 Schools Just Days After Pupils Started Back

Minister of Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, said this Friday that 22 schools have had to be closed as a precaution after detecting cases of Covid-19 just four days after the return to school in France.

BLANQUER said that 12 schools have closed in metropolitan France and 10 on the island of Reunion, which adds up to 22 of the 60,000 that exist throughout the country.

“If we talk about classes there are around 100 (closed classes), but this changes every day, obviously,” said Blanquer. The minister explained that the precautionary health protocol consists of immediately isolating the student or teacher who tests positive. “Afterwards, the health authorities carry out an investigation to establish contacts, diagnostic tests are carried out and measures are taken if necessary. We initiate about 250 protocols every day for suspected Covid-19,” he explained.

“According to this protocol, if there are more than three cases in an establishment, they order its closure, although the authorities make the decision because “each case is particular.”

France reported 7,000 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours this Thursday for the second day in a row. The total number of positives is now 300,181 since the start of the epidemic. On the last day, there were also 20 deaths from Covid-19 registered, which now adds up to 30,706.