Manchester appeared to be returning to some kind of normality today as many people returned to work.

Pictures show the city centre looking much busier than the virtual ghost town it became at times during lockdown as people tentatively start to go about their business again.

Last week the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said those who cannot work were from home were now being encouraged to speak to their employer and return to work where possible.

And that has meant many people returning to factories, building sites, offices and other workplaces across the city this week.

People who do need to commute are being urged to walk, cycle or drive if they are able to rather than take public transport.

Masked shoppers wheel trolleys into the Arndale

And although the city centre interchanges were vastly less populated than would have been the case on a regular weekday before the pandemic struck, there were queues for some bus services in Piccadilly Gardens and on tram stop platforms.

Passengers disembarking trams in the city centre

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) say their message remains people should stay at home as much as possible and only make a journey if it’s necessary.

Construction is one of the industries which has now re-started and numerous people in high-visibility work wear were among those seen on the high street today.

That was alongside those using the city centre for their now unlimited exercise.

People are now permitted to spend as much time outside as they wish and lots of people could be cycling or walking their dog down Market Street.

Many people are also using the city centre for their now unlimited exercise

Non-essential shops remain closed but people could be seen pushing trolleys into the Arndale Centre where food stores remain open.

There were also queues outside several of the banks on the high street.

Civic leaders in the region, such as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, have expressed concern about the softening of the 'stay at home' message from the government given the high number of cases still being recorded in the north west.

A big electronic billboard at the junction of Market and Cross Street urges people to "still keep two metres apart."

People queue for a bus in Piccadilly Gardens

A stretch of Deansgate has been pedestrianised to help people observe this and to socially distance on the sometimes narrow pavements.

And similar measures have been put in place on another of the city's famous thoroughfares.

A billboard on Market Street reminds people to observe social distancing at all times

On Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, better known as the Curry Mile, the road has been narrowed, with temporary fencing in place, to give pedestrians more space to maintain distance as they move around.

On the neighbouring Oxford Road corridor in the city's student district, the pavements were bustling in places however with many people now choosing to wear face masks.

Speaking at today's Downing Street press conference, the Environment Secretary George Eustice said the country was going to have adapt to new ways of living until whilst the virus was still present in the population.

"It is absolutely the case that all of us are going to have to live alongside this virus for some time to come and we do need to try to live our lives and identify ways of returning to work as far as possible and put into place those social distancing measures" he said.

“That’s what’s happened from day one in supermarkets, as people will have seen.

People walk on the pavements on Oxford Road

“That is what has happened from day one in the NHS, which has obviously been dealing with people affected by the virus, and it is the case, as other walks of life get back to something close to normality, we do have to identify ways of doing that while observing the social distancing.”

Whilst it is still unrecognisable from a pre-pandemic weekday and despite the fundamental changes that have already had to be made, there are now some small signs that Manchester is returning to some form of normality, albeit, a very new kind of normal.