France reported 70 new COVID-19 cases linked to schools just one week after they reopened as the country eased its coronavirus lockdown.

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told RTL radio on Monday that the schools that reported the new cases were shut down immediately. 

French media outlets reported that seven kindergartens and elementary schools were closed. 

The French minister said that the latest patients appeared to have been infected before the school reopening considering the incubation period of the virus. 

France reopened about 40-thousand preschools and primary schools last week as it began easing the lockdown and travel restrictions. About 30 percent of children reportedly went back to school, with the remainder taking class online.