The committee of pandemic experts is expected to meet during the current week, on either Tuesday or Wednesday, to make recommendations concerning the reopening of schools, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said in statements to SKAI television on Sunday.
He said the government's preferred plan was for schools to open on January 10, with a possible updating of health protection protocols.
"The protocol that was adopted had very good results but we will examine the trajectory of the case numbers going forward and the discussion that will take place with the experts," he explained, noting that the changes were likely to involve more testing.
The minister said the government was examining two possibilities with respect to increasing vaccination coverage against Covid-19, with the first being to make vaccination "indirectly" mandatory by requiring a booster shot in order for vaccination certificates to continue to be valid after seven months. Plevris said this measure will probably be extended to the entire population.
The second possibility will be the mandatory vaccination of specific age groups that place a greater burden on the health system, exempting healthcare workers. Plevris clarified, however, that no decision on this "was even close to being made". He reported that the measure was effective, as 200,000 of the unvaccinated individuals over 60, out of a total 580,000 in Greece, had now either had or booked an appointment for their first dose of the Covid vaccine.
He announced that Greece was due to receive 5,000 pills for treating Covid-19 from Merck in the next few days and was in talks with Pfizer for the delivery of its own drug in early March.
Source: ANA-MPA
