Authorities in the Indian capital region Friday reopened schools fully in offline mode after a gap of two years, Xinhua reported.

It is for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that physical attendance was made no longer optional.

Schools in Delhi were first closed in March 2020 immediately after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent imposition of a countrywide lockdown. The classwork resumed after some time in online mode and students were asked to attend classes sitting at their homes while remaining connected to their school teachers via the Internet.

Although the schools reopened for in-person classes multiple times in the past two years, the online mode was never called off.

Reports said many schools however stated they will resume classes only from Monday.