Stelios Petsas

Greek schools will remain closed until Epiphany Day on January 6, Kathimerini understands.

The decision is expected to be announced Monday by government spokesman Stelios Petsas.

The Greek government is in the process of building more than 1,000 vaccination centers across the country and will be rolling out a public awareness campaign in preparation for the arrival of a coronavirus vaccine.

The Greek government extended the current lockdown by one week, to December 14, as the number of new infections, intubations and deaths from Covid-19 in the country have not eased enough.

This is the second extension to the restrictive measures which were initially expected to end on November 30.

Covid-19 vaccines could be made available to Greek citizens before the end of the year, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Wednesday.

Speaking on Mega TV, Petsas said that the government's vaccination program is anticipated to be completed by late June next year.

He said the government will launch a nationwide campaign to fight misconceptions about the vaccine.

The Greek government hopes to reopen retail stores "sometime before the holidays," government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Saturday, adding that the decision will depend on the epidemiological data.

Lifting the lockdown will start from schools, whenever it happens, because this is the safest option, the government spokesman says.

Retail commerce will be next and all other activities will follow, Stelios Petsas told Skai radio Saturday.

Greece said Thursday that neighbor Turkey has so far refused to take action requested by the European Union to avoid sanctions from the bloc.

The Greek government extended until 6 a.m. on December 7 the restrictive measures imposed to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the country, as the number of deaths and intubations remained persistently high three weeks into a nationwide lockdown.

Greece is unlikely to be in a position to lift a ban on non-essential travel between different regions of the country and other restrictions imposed as part of the lockdown that was originally foreseen running until December 1, the government spokesman said on Tuesday morning.

Greece is considering a capital injection of around 120 million euros for Aegean Airlines, the government said on Monday, adding that the nation's biggest carrier was crucial to the tourist-reliant economy.

The news drove the carrier's shares 7.35% lower on closing on Monday.