France eases COVID protocols in schools amid Omicron surge - PM

FILE PHOTO: Schoolchildren, wearing protective face masks, work in a classroom at the College Jean Renoir Middle School in Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris, France, January 7, 2022. REUTERS/Yiming Woo/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - French schoolchildren will be allowed to do self-tests instead of a PCR test if one of their classmates is infected with the coronavirus as soaring new infections have made the health protocol in schools too heavy, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Monday.

"I have understood the worries of the parents, teachers and school headmasters", Castex told France 2 television, after a surge in cases due to the Omicron variant led to chaos and paralysis in French schools over the last week.