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France has recorded 70 new cases of COVID-19 in schools that were allowed to reopen last week, Business Insider reported, citing the country's education minister.

France closed its school and higher-education institutes starting March 17 as part of the country's measures to contain its coronavirus outbreak.

France had recorded more than 180,000 coronavirus cases and more than 28,000 deaths as of Monday.

After two months of lockdown, France has begun to lift restrictions, including the reopening of some shops and preschools and elementary schools.

Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer told the French radio station RTL on Monday that 70 new cases of COVID-19 had been detected in the week since students came back, which he said was "inevitable."

"It's inevitable this sort of thing will happen," he said. "In almost all cases, this [transmission] has happened outside of the school."

Blanquer noted that the 70 cases were a small proportion of the 1.4 million schoolchildren who had returned. He said the affected schools would be closed immediately.