Sao Paulo, Oct 23 (IANS): The biggest Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, also the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, will resume in-person secondary school classes from November 3, Mayor Bruno Covas said.

Addressiing the media on Thursday, Covas however said that attending the in-person classes will be optional, reports Xinhua news agency

"The return to face-to-face classes for the three years of middle school is optional. It is for the network of public and private schools, with all health security measures," Covas said at a press conference.

Schools in Sao Paulo were closed in March and gradually reopened in September, but only for extracurricular activities or supplementary education.

For the time being, kindergarten and elementary schools in the city will continue distance learning.

On Thursday, Brazil reported 24,858 new Covid-19 cases and 497 fatalities, which took the overall infection tally and death toll to 5,323,630 and 155,900, respectively.

Brazil is one of hardest-hit countries by the pandemic worldwide, ranking second in terms of deaths, after the US, and third in terms of confirmed cases, behind the US and India.

The state of Sao Paulo, the most populous in the country, has been worst-hit, with 1,076,939 cases and 38,482 deaths.

Brazil reported its first case on February 26 in Sao Paulo state.