Greece clarifies policy, to allow tourists from all nations

Greek officials said Saturday that country will not limit arriving airline passengers next month to people coming from 29 countries but that travelers who departed from places that aren't on initial list will be subject to mandatory testing for coronavirus upon arrival and a quarantine period of one or two weeks.

two-tiered policy, which revised information Greek government issued Friday, will be applied during June 15-30, although officials left open possibility of maintaining entry restrictions after end of June.

High-ranking tourism ministry officials said government needed to clarify purpose of 29-country list during coronavirus pandemic, pointing to a statement posted on Foreign Ministry's website. officials spoke to Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of issue was politically sensitive.

According to officials and foreign ministry document, a limited number of international flights will continue only being allowed to land at Ans International Airport until June 15. Per European Union policy, every arriving passenger must be tested for virus and stay overnight at a designated hotel.

Visitors who test negative are required to self-quarantine for 7 days, while ones who test positive must spend 14 days under a supervised quarantine.

Greece is taking steps to welcome more visitors in time for summer vacation season. Starting June 15, international flights also can land in ssaloniki, country's second-largest city. Those from 29 designated countries, majority of m in Europe, will be subject to random tests.

Passengers from all or countries will have to continue getting tested, staying overnight at specific hotels, and quarantining for eir seven or 14 days.

29 countries announced Friday 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.

list was drawn up based on a document from European Union Aviation Safety Agency of airports worldwide “located in affected areas with high risk of transmission of COVID-19 infection.”

Starting July 1, all Greek airports that can handle international traffic will reopen to flights from abro. At that time, random screening for virus will apply to all arriving passengers unless public health considerations dictate stricter testing, a tourism ministry official said.

ditionally, international arrivals by sea will also be allowed as of July 1, also subject to random testing. Foreigners traveling by land also will be permitted to enter Greece from neighboring Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia - but not Turkey - and be subject to random testing.

“Greece at any stage retains right to modify any of above in light of changing circumstances,” Foreign Ministry document states.

Greece imposed a lockdown early in its coronavirus outbreak, a move credited with limiting infections. country h a total of 175 deaths and 2,915 confirmed cases as of Saturday. No cases have been detected on vast majority of Greek islands, which are popular vacation spots.

Tourism and related industries make up around 20% of Greek economy, and government has been anxious to ensure tourist season is not lost this year. According to Tourism Ministry, 350,000 jobs depend directly on tourism, as many as double that number indirectly.

At this point “we are at point zero” concerning relaunching tourism traffic lost during pandemic, a tourism ministry official told AP, ding that it will take at least two or three weeks to see if bookings start to pick up.