LONDON: Younger children went back to schools in England on Monday as Britain began to stir back to life, while the government reported the lowest coronavirus death toll since the start of the national lockdown in late March.
Outdoor markets also swung open their gates and car showrooms tried to lure back customers and recoup losses suffered since Britain effectively shut down for business to ward off a disease that has now officially claimed 39,045 lives in the country.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britain was making "significant progress" against the virus after its daily toll dropped to 111 - the lowest since the stay-at-home order was issued on March 23.
Reporting of virus cases and fatalities is often lower after a weekend and many people still appeared hesitant to start using public transport or shop.
"It's very different from usual," Danish Londoner John Jellesmark said on a visit to the usually bustling Camden Market in the north of the capital.
"It's still pretty slow. It looks like the market is basically waking up."
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out a timeline that allows two million younger children in England to return to school on Monday and older ones from June 15.
The devolved governments in Scotland and Northern Ireland are eyeing a return in August and September, while Wales is still weighing the benefits of human contact against the dangers of children catching the disease and bringing it home.
A survey conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that primary school leaders expect about half the families to keep their children home.
The House of Commons will debate a government push to get everyone to start voting in person instead of remotely when parliament returns from a break on Tuesday.
But critics of the easing believe the so-called R rate of transmission - estimated nationally at between 0.7 and 0.9 - was still dangerously close to the 1.0 figure above which the virus' spread grows.
Scientists and lawmakers are not the only ones to express concern that the government's "cautious and phased" reopening is moving too quickly.
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