Primary school pupils’ first day back, and MPs rebel against UK quarantine laws

Schools are re-opening for more pupils in England, but many classes are all but empty. It's thought around half of parents have decided to hold off on sending their children back to their teachers. That's despite schools implementing social distancing measures, including keeping desks apart and enforcing more hand washing. Warnings from some scientists that the lockdown is being lifted too early may have put some people off, but our education editor Anna Davis says it's expected the number of kids going to classes will rise over the week. The UK’s quarantine laws were only announced last week and are supposed to come into force on Monday. But already the Evening Standard has learned a rebellion by MPs has seen Downing Street aides draw up plans to ease them. It follows the aviation and tourism industries saying the rules as they stand would ruin any hope of recovery during the summer. Jonathan Prynn tells us what's wrong with the laws, and whether they'll be scrapped soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.