On the day that the students of the second and third cycles returned to schools, the head of state visited the Basic School Francisco de Arruda, in Lisbon, with the Minister of Education, Tiago Brandão Rodrigues. Defending that "distance learning is completely different from face-to-face teaching", Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that "in its own way, this is a historic day", which corresponds to "a turning of the page that is expected without indentation, irreversible". The President of the Republic took the motto of this school, "from all to all", and made an appeal to the Portuguese to "engage in this national effort of all for all" to ensure that the next stages of the deconfinement plan are realized and that reopening of all school activities. "On such a beautiful day, this corresponds to a new spring, it is spring as the season, but it is spring in Portugal, spring in schools", he considered.

With the Minister of Education at his side, he declared: "We are here, symbolically, to say that this is a joint effort, believing that it is an opening for the future". Asked if it is taken for granted that there are conditions to fulfil the Government's lack of definition plan, the head of state replied: "It is an everyday effort". In his opinion, "all the Portuguese have made the effort, they have done in confinement, they are doing in confinement, they have done before Easter week, they have done in Easter week" and also "they will do it in the coming weeks, respecting the rules of public health". "So this is done day by day, permanently," he reiterated.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that the progressive reopening "goes through everyone's behavior" and insisted that the month of April is fundamental. "It is in the month of April that this process of deflation is consolidated. If it goes well, when we get to May and then June, we will have already surpassed what is the deflation program. It is what we want. It is what every Portuguese, all days, you have to think, that is also your responsibility. None of us want to go back, "he added. In Portugal, more than 16 thousand people have died with covid-19 and so far more than 823 thousand cases of infection with the new coronavirus that causes this disease have been reported, according to the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).