Confusion over school reopenings on Monday

There was confusion on Thursday over whether schools for younger pupils would actually reopen on Monday, as initially announced earlier this week, after conflicting announcements by the government.

Last Monday (Jan. 4), Education Minister Niki Kerameus said that kindergartens, elementary and special education schools in Greece would reopen as of January 11.

The ministry reiterated the same information on Thursday, adding that middle and high schools would restart online classes this Friday (Jan. 8).

However, speaking later in the day, deputy government spokesperson Aristotelia Peloni said “there were no certainties” for the reopening of schools for younger pupils.

“The committee [of experts] will evaluate the epidemiological data and make its recommendations to the government, so that it can make its decisions.”

“The pandemic is a phenomenon that evolves dynamically. Just as its development is not linear, neither are the decisions,” she added.