The end of the lockdown is finally in sight.
If infection rates continue to fall then it is hoped that some schools in England will start to reopen on March 8.
But this is the earliest possible date and it does not herald a blanket easing of restrictions.
While we wait for this moment it is all the more important we give children the support they need with home learning.
The Mirror’s campaign with the NEU to raise funds to provide pupils with materials such as pens, paper and books will make a crucial difference to families over the next few weeks.
Enter your postcode here and find out how your area measures up, and how you can donate and take action to help a local child learn
The Government also needs to step up. Too many children still have no access to laptops – just 700,000 of the 1.3 million computers ministers pledged have been delivered.
If Boris Johnson is serious about getting kids back in the classroom he should also consider our call, backed by Keir Starmer yesterday, for teachers to be vaccinated.
The sooner we make schools safe, the sooner we can help pupils catch up with their studies.
Border farce
At long last the Government is to tighten controls at borders to protect us from the new variants of coronavirus.
You would have thought bringing in these measures would be a matter of urgency.
Yet Priti Patel was unable to say yesterday when the new quarantine rules for travellers from 30 nations would come into force or how they would operate in practice.
The Home Secretary also needs to explain how they will monitor people from high-risk places who come to the UK via a third country.
Even with the new rules, people will still be able to land in the UK without being tested on arrival and head home on public transport.
These gaps in our defences should have been closed sooner. Once again, No10 is responding to events, rather than pre-empting them.
Fare-oplane
An aerospace firm claims it will provide a flying taxi service in a couple of years.
You may need a long arm to hail one.
