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Infectious disease specialists and the government are wary of unlocking school units before the holidays, as there is a fear of spreading the virus, not so much from children, but due to the mobility of adults.
The concern of infectious disease specialists is evident in the last 24 hours with the scenario of schools opening after the new year, gaining more and more ground.
Government spokesman Stelios Petsas was cautious during the political authors’ briefing, noting that next week there will be suggestions from infectious disease specialists and final decisions will be made.
Following today’s announcements to extend the closure until December 14, the possibility of schools opening before Christmas is increasingly ruled out as infectious disease specialists are wary.
Their fear is not focused so much on the contagion of children, which is considered not at high levels, but on the mobility of adults.
The statement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis yesterday, who referred to the school units, sent a message that they will be closed for as long as necessary, it was not just a coincidence.
The Committee on Infectious Diseases meets
In the afternoon, according to information, the infectious diseases committee will meet to discuss the issue of school units and discuss possible dates.
The meeting will be attended by a representative of the political leadership of the Ministry of Education and it remains to be seen whether there will be a first suggestion in the “roadmap” on restarting schools.
The two scenarios
There are currently two scenarios.
- Giving a “green light” by infectious disease specialists to the opening of school units on December 14, in the event of a dramatic drop in the number of cases. A scenario that does not seem to have more possibilities at this time since the de-escalation in the number of cases registered in recent days leaves no room for optimism.
- The second scenario, which is gaining ground in the last 24 hours due to the high viral load that is maintained in the main cities of the country, is to ring the bell again with the new year, for which there has been a significant reduction in cases that will allow the opening of elementary, middle and high schools with greater security.
“Schools will be closed for as long as necessary”
“Schools will be closed for as long as the experts tell us,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said when asked about it during a conference call yesterday organized by the Hellenic-American Chamber of Commerce as part of the 31st annual Greek Economic Summit.
Scientists are wary of opening schools
Experts, however, remain skeptical despite initial estimates that schools, starting with elementary schools, could open on December 7 and see most of them refuse to reopen before the new year.
They estimate that the opening of the school units on December 14, when the new extension of the confinement will formally end, will be dangerous, pointing out at the same time that it will make no sense for students to return to their desks for a few days, until vacation. 
The professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases, Charalambos Gogos, when asked about when the schools will open, pointed out that the discussion, it seems, is postponed to December 14, because there is no improvement and consolidation of epidemiological data to close the issue.
The infectious disease specialist and member of the national committee, Marios Lazanas, said that he is divided between the opening and the permanence of closed schools since he stressed that there is a problem.
“I am divided, that is, I think there is a problem with the schools. “I have many families here in Athens who have been infected with the virus and the problem has come from the schools,” he stresses.
The president of the Athens-Piraeus Hospital Physicians Association, Matina Pagoni, has expressed the opinion that schools should open in the new year.
He shares the opinion that although children do not transmit, the problem centers on parents, grandparents who will move to and from school and this should be avoided.
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