ATHENS – While a decision whether to lift a second COVID-19 lockdown after two months on Jan. 7, 2021 is still up in the air, New Democracy government spokesman Stelios Petsis said schools could reopen on Jan. 8.

It said was only a possibility, which means it might not happen either as the administration is hedging its bets after Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis admitted he waited too long before bringing the second closing of non-essential businesses on Nov. 7.

That came only after a second wave of the Coronavirus had spread out of control after a first lockdown in the spring for 10 weeks held down the number of cases, deaths and people in critical condition on ventilators.

The reopening of schools is “a priority” for the government, Petsas told TV station Open, including all of them and not just elementary schools as had happened for a time during the second lockdown.

Deputy Development Minister Nikos Papathanassis told Mega Channel that the decision to reopen stores or not will take place two or three days before Jan. 7, leaving them to hope it does to keep them afloat, thousands already failing.

Papathanassis also said the click-and-collect option worked better for shops that were “well organized,” the scheme letting people order goods online and make a reservation to pick them up at a store’s door outside.

The businesses battered by two lockdowns said the click-and-collect had been a lifeline during Christmas and the holidays, with 70 percent of their sales coming that way.