Older French school kids should wear masks - advisory body

French schoolchildren aged 11-18 should wear masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, the scientific council advising the government on the pandemic said on Saturday. It added that staff at both French "colleges" and "lycees" - dealing with children aged 11 to 18 - should also wear masks, although it said it was impossible to get the youngest of schoolchildren, aged for example from 4 to 11, to do so.

French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said on his Twitter account on Saturday that the scientific council's findings would form part of the government's considerations on how to re-open the country's schools on May 11. France has been on a virtual lockdown since mid-March in a bid to thwart the spread of the coronavirus, and the government is hoping to gradually reopen the country from May 11 onwards.