Thousands of French schools reopened. A coronavirus resurgence shut some of them down again.

What's happening in France's schools is calling into question whether kids can return just yet.

About 40,000 preschools and primary schools in parts of France hit less hard by COVID-19 reopened last week, while another 150,000 junior high students return to class on Monday. But while class sizes were capped at 15 students and only about a third of the country's students went back, some schools saw a "worrying" flareup of new coronavirus cases and had to quickly shut down again, The Associated Press reports.

A total of 70 new COVID-19 cases linked to schools were reported since they'd reopened, French Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said Monday. Affected schools, including seven in northern France, were quickly closed again. The coronavirus' incubation period can be upwards of two weeks, so those 70 people were probably infected before they went back to school, Blanquer said.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Blanquer didn't say whether those infected were students or teachers. Some people — President Trump included — have suggested opening up schools would be less problematic than other businesses because young people generally haven't gotten as sick from COVID-19. But children's potential to spread coronavirus, as shown in France, coupled with the inflammatory Kawasaki disease spreading among young people and thought to be connected to COVID-19, call into question whether that's safe and possible. Read more at The Associated Press.