Stelios Petsas

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Saturday that "it is possible" schools will open again on January 8.

The reopening of schools is "a priority" for the government, Petsas told TV station Open.

Petsas added that when schools reopen, it will be for all classes and not just elementary schools.

The initial number of Covid-19 vaccines secured by Greece through the European Union is "not the number we wanted, but it is the one we definitely have," said government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Tuesday.

A police officer looks on as people take in the festively decorated Syntagma Square in central Athens. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas cautioned again on Monday against complacency with regard to safety rules in place during the week of Christmas, warning that noncompliance and lax attitudes will force the authorities to impose even stricter restrictions for New Year's Eve celebrations.

Citizens who will choose to share their Christmas day or New Year's lunch with family or friends should send an SMS with the number 6 to leave their home, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Tuesday, but warned against widening the social bubble during the festive season.

Government spokesman Stelios Petsas on Monday again cautioned against complacency in social distancing during the upcoming holiday season, warning that failure to adhere with rules over Christmas will force the authorities to impose even stricter restrictions for New Year's Eve celebrations.

Greece will pay a total of 2.3 billion euros ($2.8 billion) under a deal it is due to sign soon with France for the purchase of 18 Dassault-made Rafale fighter jets, its government spokesman said on Thursday.

Greece will buy six newly-built and 12 second-hand Rafale jets for 1.92 billion euros and pay another 400 million for their equipment, Stelios Petsas told a televised briefing.

A hard lockdown is on the table for regions that have been unable to contain the spread of Covid-19 and are struggling with hospital admissions, government spokesman Stelios Petsas reiterated during a press briefing on Thursday.

He also warned the public against complacency during the holiday season as this could result in an increase in cases.

Greece expects to receive 300,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses in the first tranche, which means that 150,000 people will be vaccinated initially (vaccines will require two doses per patient), government spokesman Stelios Petsas told Parapolitika radio on Wednesday. 

Petsas said that the immunization program will be launched in December or January.

The government's plans to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the population against the coronavirus is seen as a grand objective, as the campaign's name "Freedom" would suggest, but the first obstacles on this road to the promised land have already begun to appear.

The government dismissed claims on Wednesday by opposition SYRIZA that it was censoring the media that are critical of it and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. 

"The government does not interfere in the media or in the work of journalists. It fully respects their independence," government spokesman Stelios Petsas said in a statement.