Schools from class 1 to 8 to be completely closed in India's Madhya Pradesh over COVID-19

NEW DELHI, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have ordered the closure of schools from class one to class eight until Nov. 15 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Tuesday.

The order has been issued by the state's school education department saying it will be compulsory for all schools to follow the standard operating procedure (SOP) and guidelines on health and safety.

All schools from class nine to 12 will be opening partially.

"Regular classes will not be conducted and online reading and learning activities will continue as before," officials said.

The federal government has allowed all states to reopen schools outside the containment zone from Oct. 15 under the relaxation of guidelines (Unlock 5.0). However, it has given the liberty to take the final decision on reopening schools to the states.

Academic work in schools across the country has been badly affected in wake of the ongoing pandemic.

Madhya Pradesh has reported 148,298 COVID-19 cases including 2,645 deaths.

On Tuesday morning 55,342 new COVID-19 cases and 706 related deaths were recorded in India during the past 24 hours, pushing the country's COVID-19 tally to 7,175,880 including 109,856 deaths.

Globally India is the second worst-hit country due to COVID-19 pandemic.