The Greek Minister of Health Vassilis Kikilias announced in Athens on Tuesday that only schoolchildren, convalescents, vaccinated persons and people who show symptoms are not affected. A quick test costs around ten euros in Greece. Germany, however, classified several Greek vacation islands as high-risk areas.
“Well over 90 percent of Covid patients in intensive care units are unvaccinated,” said Kikilias, explaining the new measures in the country, which should apply at least until March 31, 2022. In the leisure sector, closed rooms in taverns and theaters or even football stadiums will only allow those who have been vaccinated – or those who have recovered who were infected no more than six months ago.
Kikilias also announced measures for citizens traveling within the country: Unvaccinated people have to present a negative corona test that is not older than 48 hours. Employers can also get information from employees about whether or not they have been vaccinated, and otherwise request two tests per week. Nationwide in Greece there is already compulsory vaccination in the health and care sector as well as in the military.
Vacation islands as high-risk areas
Since Tuesday, the German government has classified Crete and the southern GIS with holiday islands such as Rhodes, Kos, Mykonos or Naxos as high-risk areas. The islands are also considered to be the germ of the corona spread because of their nightlife. Vacationers on their way home from there to Germany have to be in quarantine for ten days, unless they can be shown to have been vaccinated or recovered. The quarantine can be ended after five days with a negative test.
According to the latest estimates by the German Travel Association (DRV), there are currently around 150,000 package holidaymakers from Germany in Greece. There is also an unknown number of individual travelers. However, many popular holiday regions are not high-risk areas, including the islands in the Ionian Sea, the Peloponnese peninsula and the northern Gis with its islands.
No going out in Crete
The government in Athens is trying to intervene locally with mini-lockdowns. In Crete, for example, there is a ban on going out between 1:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. in the regions of Chania, Rethymno and Heraklion, with a few exceptions. In addition, music is no longer allowed to be played in bars so that people don’t dance close together. These measures also apply to some other, smaller islands.
