Around 3,000 people took to the streets of Thessaloniki on Sunday evening to protest against the mandatory use of face masks for school children amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The anti-vaccine activists marched through the city alongside the iconic White Tower holding a large banner with a message reading: "Hands off our children, no to mandatory vaccination and COVID tests."

The Greek Health Minister said in July that the government had no plans to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory, if and when they are created.

Police officers walked ahead of the march while others patrolled the streets on motorcycles.

Similar demonstrations took place in Athens, Heraklion, Chania, Patras, and other cities and towns throughout Greece.

Schools are set to reopen in Greece on September 14 with the government mandating the wearing of masks, which will be handed out for free, by teachers and students.

According to compiled data by Johns Hopkins University, Greece has reported 11,524 coronavirus cases and 284 subsequent deaths as of Sunday.