Greece Welcomes All Tourists June 15, But Here’s Why You Face Quarantine

As Greece gets ready for its summer tourism comeback, the government says all tourists will now be welcome from mid-June. But there’s a major catch. Many travelers from Europe and further afield will no longer face the current Covid-19 testing and quarantine on arrival. Hundreds of thousands of others landing from high-risk areas including the U.S. and U.K. will. It all depends on where tourists come from. Read On.

Greece Opens To All Tourists June 15

As Europe’s borders come tumbling down in time for summer tourism, many countries are starting by gradually opening up only to fellow Europeans. But Greece is going gung-ho, fast-tracking its tourism comeback from June 15.

Initially, only flights from 29 European and other low-risk countries–including Australia, Israel, China and South Korea–were welcome, the country’s tourism ministry said Friday.

Now officials say the borders will be open to all travelers, including those coming from badly hit countries such as the U.S. and the U.K. All arrivals from those countries however face mandatory testing for the coronavirus, and a quarantine period of one or two weeks.

So Who Escapes Quarantine In Greece

As Greece’s rules relax, international travelers from low-risk countries in Europe and beyond can enter the country without having to systematically undergo a coronavirus test or quarantine. Those passengers will be subject only to random tests the Greek Foreign Ministry says.

According to the Athens daily, Kathimerini, the 29 countries are: Albania, Australia, Austria, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Israel, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lebanon, New Zealand, Lithuania, Malta, Montenegro, Norway, South Korea, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Finland.

Who Faces Testing & Quarantine In Greece

Various airports in Italy, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, South Africa, India and Chile are among the new list of high-risk areas drawn up by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, EASA.

The list pretty much rules out all June holidays in Greece by American and British travelers too. If the journey starts from one of the airports, passengers will be tested upon arrival. They must then stay overnight at a designated hotel while waiting for Covid-19 test results. In the case of a negative test, travelers face mandatory self-isolation for seven days at the destination of their choice. With a positive test, its 14 days in supervised quarantine in Athens.

Mainland And Island Tourism Dates

Already since the end of May, some international flights have begun. Until June 30, passenger planes can only fly into Athens and Thessaloniki.

From July 1, flights to other mainland and island destinations will resume. At that point, says the government, all testing will be random. Though just to confuse matters further, it says some added restrictions regarding certain countries will follow.

Covid-19 Flight Doha-Athens Shows Summer Holiday Risks

The risks of countries reopening to international travel were evident this week, when 12 out of 91 passengers on a Qatar Airlines flight to Athens tested positive for Covid-19. The situation also demonstrated the benefits of tough screening, quarantine and other health measures in limiting the holiday dangers. On Tuesday, Greece suspended all flights to and from Qatar until June 15 as a result.

The decision goes to show that no move to reopen borders to tourists or others is absolute. There is plenty of scope to backtrack or adapt the policy to exclude arrivals from some countries. But it also shows how the risk is there. Not only for European countries welcoming back international tourists, but for passengers taking a plane.

According to Greece’s civil protection department, nine of those who tested positive were Pakistani nationals resident in Greece, two were members of Australia’s large Greek community. Either way, the case shows the dangers that are present as Greece prepares to welcome much bigger waves of foreign arrivals.

Vital To Split Tourists Into “Safe-Unsafe” List

What happened to temperature checking in Doha to detect possible Covid cases among passengers? It’s not clear. Whatever controls were lacking in Qatar, thankfully were not missing in Greece. “We knew there would be such cases. We’ve now seen what can happen this summer,” infectious diseases expert and government adviser, Nikolaos Sypsas, told Greek television.

So what does this mean as the strict Covid-19 screening and quarantine for all international arrivals gradually fade? Already from June 15, thousands of tourists can land in Greece without any health checks. Aside from spot tests.

The key Sypsas says is maintaining quarantine for arrivals from areas with a high-risk of transmission. “The safest would be not to open up to tourism, but that would mean huge economic destruction … The first thing we have to do is divide countries of origin into safe and unsafe. That creates certain diplomatic pressures, but for us the first priority is public health.”