More than 20 French schools shut as coronavirus cases soar

A masked schoolchild raises his arm to answer his teacher during a class in Bischheim, outside Strasbourg, eastern France. Picture: AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

Twenty-two schools have been shut down in France and the French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion due to coronavirus as cases soar in the country.

More than 12 million pupils returned to classrooms in France on Tuesday but some parents and teachers' unions have expressed concern over the reopening of schools as the spread of COVID-19 accelerates.