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20th February 2021
12:50pm GMT

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to reopen schools by March 8th at the earliest. (Photo: Getty)[/caption]
However, not everyone is encouraged by the planned reopening of schools - particularly senior figures in the health service.
The Guardian report that Professor Chris Whitty, England's Chief Medical Officer, is "very unhappy" with the move.
Senior government officials and civil servants have reportedly urged him to back Boris and support the reopening, but Whitty is understood to be less-than-enthusiastic about it.
At best, he is believed to be offering "lukewarm" support only. He is not expected to appear at Monday's press briefing.
On Friday, the UK's biggest education unions released a joint statement in which caution was urged regarding the reopening of schools.
Unions are concerned that reopening schools too quickly could lead to another spike in cases of coronavirus.
The statement read: "This would seem a reckless course of action. It could trigger another spike in Covid infections, prolong the disruption of education and risk throwing away the hard-won progress made in suppressing the virus over the course of the latest lockdown."
The nine unions behind the statement include the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), the NAHT school leaders' union, the National Education Union (NEU), the NASUWT teachers' union, the National Governance Association (NGA) and the Sixth Form Colleges Association (SFCA).
Three of the UK's largest trade unions - Unison, Unite and GMB - were also involved.Explore more on these topics:

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