ATHENS – Greek students who show up for school when it reopens Sept. 14 amid worries over COVID-19 still spreading will be barred unless they are wearing a mask as part of tightened health protocols.

That's according to information on the joint ministerial decision (JMD) that is being drafted by the New Democracy government’s General Secretariat said Kathimerini, with teachers also anxious about returning to classes.

The rules will provide legal protection to teachers who have to implement the rules although it wasn't said what would happen if students openly defy the measures, especially in high schools.

There's also uncertainty what to do if the anti-mask contingent of parents, some of whom believe the pandemic is a hoax or resist government measures, refuse to follow the health measures and keep their children out of school.

Some parents in schools in the region of Attica have already submitted a request for the exception of their children from the mask rule some claiming masks are part of a shadowy conspiracy theory to use their children “for biomedical purposes,” without saying who is behind it.

No leave has been allowed for so-called vulnerable groups who will be working from home, by telework or distance learning, leaving up in the air what would happen if there is a rebellion from students or parents.