CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR VISITORS TO GREECE FACE QUARANTINE


 

Travellers to Greece for Christmas and New Year face 10 days in self-isolation when they arrive – in addition to coronavirus tests before departure and after arrival.

The country has kept infection rates relatively low. The latest figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) show that Greece had 222 new cases per 100,000 people over the past two weeks, compared with 317 for the UK.

But the country saw rates double during November. The government in Athens is concerned about the pressure on the nation’s health service, and fears that arrivals from abroad for the festive season could increase infections.

The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, tweeted: “The optimism from the arrival of the vaccine should not lead us to complacency. This euphoria worries us, because it can lead to a possible third wave and winter is still ahead of us. We must continue to respect individual protection measures.”

Greece already has strict rules in place for inbound travellers. They must take a PCR test within 72 hours of arrival and complete a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) at least 24 hours ahead of reaching Greece.


These include seeking permission to leave a dwelling and a night curfew from 9pm to 5am.They must also take a rapid Covid-19 test on arrival. At present, if it is negative they are free to enter Greece – but are subject to the current lockdown measures.

Greece is one of the few European countries with a degree of UK quarantine exemption: people arriving from the islands of Corfu, Crete, Kos, Rhodes and Zante need not self-isolate.

But during the winter there are no direct flights from any of those locations. All the available options involve passing through a “high-risk” airport, thus triggering quarantine.

News Source

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Google backs Biden immigration efforts, covers fees in threatened 'Dreamer' program

Image
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s Google said it would support President-elect Joe Biden’s efforts to pass a new U.S. immigration law and would help cover application fees for immigrants seeking lawful work under a threatened government program. Google said on Wednesday it would pay for the application fees of about 500 young immigrants seeking employment under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It comes as Google and other big U.S. employers transition from four years of criticizing outgoing President Donald Trump for restricting immigration policy and undermining the companies’ ability to hire foreign-born workers. Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here C...
Read more

Bill Gates says six Covid vaccines could be available by spring 2021

Image
Bill Gates has said as many as six Covid-19 vaccines could be ready by the first quarter of 2021. Speaking virtually at Singapore’s FinTech Festival, Gates cited candidates from Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Novavax. The tech entrepreneur congratulated rapid developments by Western regulators but said more support was needed for developing nations. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Lintao Zhang | Getty Images News | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Bill Gates has predicted there could be as many as half a dozen Covid-19 vaccines approved and ready for distribution by the spring of 2021, as medical advancements to combat the coronavirus ramp up. “I expect that we’ll have about six vaccines approved by the first quarter,” Gates said Tuesday, speaking virtually at the Singapore FinTech Festival. In addition to the already selectively approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Gates said candidates from Moderna, AstraZ...
Read more

UK to impose new rules to limit tech giants' power

Image
The UK will impose new rules next year aimed at preventing Google and Facebook from abusing their market dominance. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said the two firms accounted for around 80% of the £14bn ($18.7bn) spent on advertising online in 2019. The new regime will attempt to give consumers more control over their data. It will also "help small businesses thrive, and ensure news outlets are not forced out by bigger rivals," according to the government. "There is growing consensus in the UK and abroad that the concentration of power among a small number of tech companies is curtailing growth of the sector, reducing innovation and having negative impacts on the people and businesses that rely on them," said Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden, in a statement. "It's time to address that and unleash a new age of tech growth." The new code will set clear expectations for the most powerful firms over what represents acceptable behaviour when in...
Read more