Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England can start returning to the classroom today. Many won't though - up to half potentially kept off by worried parents, according to a survey. Others can't go back because their local council has said no to schools reopening. 

For those who do return after up to 10 weeks away the school day will look very different. Social distancing measures, like staggered start times and one-way systems, will be in place. We've been answering questions from those at the centre of things - children themselves - and have also  looked at the science behind the decision to begin a phased return.

In other changes to England's lockdown on Monday, groups of up to six people from different households can meet in parks and private gardens, sticking two metres apart, and individuals can leave home without needing a "reasonable excuse". People are still largely banned from staying at another address overnight, though. The especially vulnerable, who've been shielding since lockdown began, can also now go outdoors with a family member or to meet a friend. 

Throughout the weekend, the focus has been on dissenting voices among the government's panel of scientific advisers, who feel these steps are all coming too quickly. Several members have warned politics is being put before public health. Ministers, though, insist the timing is right. 

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are taking their own decisions on easing lockdown, remember. Wales, meanwhile, joins the other nations in beginning its contact-tracing system on Monday.

There have now been 6.1m confirmed cases and 371,000 deaths linked to Covid-19 worldwide, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Among the headlines this morning, Metro Manila, the capital region of the Philippines, has finally eased one of the world's longest lockdowns - longer even than the 76-day quarantine in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus first emerged. More people will be allowed to work and shops will reopen.

In Brazil, the number of confirmed cases has passed half a million, the second highest total in the world. Despite this, President Jair Bolsonaro has consistently played down the outbreak, criticising state lockdowns for harming Brazil's economy and jobs. In neighbouring Venezuela, an unprecedented fuel crisis is leaving funeral homes unable to transport the bodies of coronavirus victims for burial.

Elsewhere on Monday, how do you follow virus hygiene protocol when clean water is scarce? See the picture in one South African village. And get the latest from right around the globe via our live page.

As well as changes for schools and socialising, more businesses are able to open from Monday. Which ones? We've got the details. And hear from some of those who'll be back up and running about the challenges they face adhering to virus protection measures.

Domestic competitive sport will also be allowed behind closed doors from Monday - horse racing and snooker are both wasting no time. Meanwhile, it's been announced that Championship football will resume on 20 June and Formula 1 has been given the go-ahead by the government to hold two races at Silverstone this summer. Participants will be exempt from a requirement on international travellers to self-isolate for 14 days.

The easing of lockdown in England dominates the front pages. The Daily Express thinks that for the health of our economy and minds, we need to get back to something like normal. In the Guardian's view, however, ministers appear to be in a rush, and determined to avoid falling further behind our recovering European neighbours. On schools, the Daily Telegraph takes heart from evidence in other countries where classrooms have reopened, suggesting lessons are less likely to spread coronavirus than public gatherings. For the Times, risks also run in the other direction. The paper argues virtual school is no substitute for the real thing and a prolonged gap in learning and social interaction is potentially damaging. Elsewhere, the Sun is highly critical of what it calls the "half-baked and illogical" plan to quarantine most people arriving in the UK for 14 days from next week. It warns the move will be the nail in the coffin for the tourism, aviation and hospitality industries. Finally, the Daily Mail leads with fears about the number of patients missing out on cancer treatment due to the pandemic.

From elsewhere

Bitesize Primary Parents' Survival Guide offers practical advice for those feeling anxiety about sending their youngsters back to school. And for parents of older children, a psychotherapist suggests ways to limit screen time for teens unable to return to the classroom.

As unrest continues across the US following the death of George Floyd, the BBC's Helier Chung examines the question of why some protests turn violent. Elsewhere, Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen describes how a proxy war between Russia and Turkey risks turning Libya into the new Syria. And finally, find out why hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world are avidly watching men solve Sudoku puzzles.