The government's first priority is to reopen schools at all levels, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said on Wednesday, talking to the state broadcaster ERT. He noted that a discussion on how this can best be done, on the basis of the epidemiological data, will continue over the coming days in order to decide whether the date that children return to classrooms will be January 8, as initially announced, and whether all levels will open simultaneously or at different stages.

“I think if we are going to take appropriate actions we must do it immediately before there is a high spread of the new virus. If there are incidents in schools and universities, the measures that follow will be less effective. Teaching in schools can be complemented by e-learning and the use of public television in the early morning hours”, Elias Mosialos said in a post commenting on news of drastic measures in Italy, with schools and universities closed.

The number of schools closing due to coronavirus in Greece is increasing.