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English schools return, care homes allow visitors

After months of remote learning, millions of English children and teenagers returned to school on Monday.

The reopening of schools is the first step in a four-stage government plan to ease the lockdown while trying to prevent a new surge in infections.

New safety measures for pupils include regular hand washing, staggered arrival times, and social bubbles.

For secondary schools, the requirements are more onerous with teenagers being mass-tested for COVID and required to wear masks in the classroom.

The near-consensus has been that getting children back into the classroom is essential for their mental health, education and life chances.

Most pupils had missed out on more than three months of school in the spring and early summer of 2020, when Britain was under its first strict national lockdown.

James Fisher is the Head of Harris Academy in Sutton, England:

"I'm seeing a lot of thrilled children, really grateful to be back in school, really thrilled to be getting back on with their learning but we're prepared for any of the inconsistencies that might be thrown up in terms of their behaviour, but we're prepared for that as well."

Things have also opened up for England's care home residents, who are now allowed one regular visitor.

Nicky Clough was one of the first family members allowed back to the Alexander House home in Wimbledon, south London.

She had not been able to visit her mother, 87-year-old Pam Harrison, at the home since March 2020.

Aside from a couple of meetings when Harrison had been admitted to hospital, all of Clough's interactions with her mother have been through the ground floor window.

Now, the only barrier to connection is the comprehensive protective gear Clough has to wear.

For adults in England, the lockdown remains in force, with social contact severely restricted.

People are under stay at home orders, most shops are closed, and cafes and restaurants are only able to offer takeaway or delivery.

The remaining three steps of the government's plan to ease the lockdown are due to kick in, in April, May, and June, subject to a continued reduction of coronavirus infections.

Since the start of the pandemic, Britain has recorded 124,500 deaths from COVID-19 - the fifth highest official death toll in the world and the worst in Europe.