DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Colleges and universities in Punjab reopened on Monday after being shut for nearly eight months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said. The decision to open these educational institutions in areas outside COVID-19 containment zones was taken by the state government earlier this month. Institutions have been directed to strictly observe COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) framed by their respective administrative departments in consultation with the state health department and the Union health ministry. Earlier an official spokesperson had said that "all higher education, medical education and research and technical education institutions, including all universities and colleges in areas outside containment zones in the state would be allowed to re-open from November 16." The educational institutions in the state were closed from March 24 due to the coronavirus outbreak. In the first phase of reopening, only final-year students of departments such as science, medicine, engineering and technology where hands-on training is an essential part of the curriculum will be called for attending classes, followed by students of other courses, according to the SOPs. In hostels, not more than one student will be accommodated per room to begin with and educational institutes have kept separate gates for entry and exit of students and staff. Thermal screening, hand sanitising, wearing of masks, social distancing in classrooms, with not more than 50 per cent of total strength of students being called to attend classes, are part of the SOPs. Even though attendance was thin on the first day, majority of students across the state said they were happy to attend regular classes. "Online classes have helped us during these months, but these cannot match regular classes where we meet our teachers face-to-face in a campus environment. There are distractions and limitations while studying at home," said a student outside a government college in Bathinda. India's COVID-19 caseload mounted to 88,45,127 with 30,548 infections being reported in a day, while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 82,49,579, according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Monday. The coronavirus death toll climbed to 1,30,070 with 435 new fatalities, the data updated at 8 am showed. The number of active cases remained below 5 lakh for the sixth consecutive day. There are 4,65,478 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date which comprise 5.26 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated. The total number of recoveries has surged to 82,49,579, pushing the national recovery rate to 93.27 per cent. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.47 per cent. India's COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and 40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70 lakh on October 11 and crossed 80 lakh on October 29. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 12,56,98,525 samples had been tested till November 15 with 8,61,706 being tested on Sunday.The 435 new fatalities include 95 from Delhi, 60 from Maharashtra, 51 from West Bengal, 30 from Punjab, and 21 each from Karnataka and Kerala. The total 1,30,070 deaths reported so far in the country include 45,974 from Maharashtra, followed by 11,529 from Karnataka, 11,478 from Tamil Nadu, 7,661 from West Bengal, 7,614 from Delhi, 7,372 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,868 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,458 from Punjab and 3,803 from Gujarat. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities. "Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research," the ministry said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures is subject to further verification and reconciliation. (editor@dailyworld.in)