The United States government has updated its Covid-19 mitigation guidance to narrow the acceptable distance between students who are wearing masks to at least three feet from at least six feet, potentially easing the path for schools that have struggled to reopen under previous recommendations.

The new guidance applies to students from kindergarten through high school and in areas with low, moderate, and substantial community transmission of Covid-19. Middle and high school students in communities with high levels of Covid-19 should stay six feet apart unless their schoolday contact can be limited to a single small group of students and staff.

Students should continue to maintain six feet of distance when interacting with teachers and other school staff and when eating, the CDC said, according to a Reuters report.