By June 21, the British government hopes to lift all restrictions on social contact. And the first step in that plan starts on Monday with the return to classrooms of schoolchildren in England.
Schools in the UK were forced to close their doors in early January as coronavirus infections spiralled out of control.
Children aged between five and 11 are the first to be reunited with their teachers, with secondary schools following in a phased return later.
Teachers and pupils will have to take two COVID-19 tests a week for the foreseeable future.
"The reopening of schools marks a truly national effort to beat this virus. It is because of the determination of every person in this country that we can start moving closer to a sense of normality – and it is right that getting our young people back into the classroom is the first step," Downing Street reported Prime Minister Boris Johnson as saying.