ATHENS — Government spokesperson Christos Tarantilis, in statements to SKAI television station on Tuesday, said that there was nothing to indicate the necessity of imposing a harsher lockdown, based on the pandemic data available until late on Monday.

"However I must tell you that this is a purely dynamic phenomenon, which means that we could have major changes in the epidemiological data on daily basis and that's why we must be cautious. There is certainly monitoring of the data each day and decisions are taken every week," he added.

Tarantilis said that there was no priority with respect to what sectors should open or close and that the government was acting in accordance with the recommendations of the scientific committee. "Our priority is public health," he underlined.

On the pressure placed on the national health system, he said that this was not yet high but certainly played a role in decision making.

Finally, regarding the education bill, he underlined that this was a "flagship bill that had not taken anyone by surprise" as it was one the government's pre-election pledges.