Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday announced that schools for classes 11 and 12 will reopen with 50% capacity on July 26, PTI reported. Classes will be held four times a week, with two days each for two batches.

The chief minister said that the Covid-19 situation in Madhya Pradesh is under control and that the state government is preparing for a possible third wave. He added that if people continue to adhere to Covid-19 appropriate behaviour, the government will restart offline classes for younger students as well.

Chouhan added that colleges will reopen from August 1 with 50% capacity, according to Times Now.

Several other state governments have already allowed schools to reopen with some restrictions. The Maharashtra government has allowed schools to reopen in areas where no active Covid-19 case has been reported for a month. Haryana will reopen schools for classes 9 to 12 from July 16 with physical distancing. In Puducherry, colleges and schools for students of Classes 9 to 12 will begin on July 16.

Daily Covid-19 cases have been steadily falling in Madhya Pradesh in the past few weeks. On Tuesday. the state reported 23 coronavirus cases and two deaths, taking the tally of infections since the pandemic began in January 2020 to 7,91,583. The toll is now 10,508.

During the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus in April and May, the state had recorded over 13,000 cases per day, reported Hindustan Times.