Greece To Lift All Covid Travel Restrictions This Summer
Visiting Greece will be a little easier this summer. The country’s authorities announced this Wednesday that Greece is lifting all its Covid travel restrictions in time for the summer holidays.
The measures will come into effect on May 2. From that day on, tourists will not be required to show vaccine passports, test results or any other pandemic-related documents to enter the country. Greece is also lifting domestic Covid restrictions such as vaccine certificates to access cafes, bars and other venues as well as masks mandates indoors.
Currently, EU travelers are allowed to enter Greece with an EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) showing they have been vaccinated against the virus.
As for visitors from other countries, including the US, they don’t need to show proof of a negative COVID test to enter Greece if they are fully vaccinated.
The vaccination certificate must be no older than nine months to be valid. If the limited period is expired, the traveler will have to get another booster vaccine for test-free entry.
Those who are unvaccinated must take a test to prove they are not infected either through a PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival, or a rapid antigen test was taken within 24 hours.
The decision of lifting Covid travel restrictions to enter the country was made after Greece confirmed the decrease in Covid-19 infections cases over the past weeks. According to official data, Greece registered 9,308 new COVID-19 infections and 57 deaths associated with the virus on Wednesday.
With these positive figures that show some relief compared to previous months, Greece’s tourism industry intends to return to its pre-pandemic level with the end of the restrictions.
Tourism plays a very important role in Greece’s economy. The sector accounts for 25% of the economy and employs one in five people in the country. With the end of the Covid restrictions policy, In 2019, this European nation received 31.3 million visitors, making Greece one of the most visited countries in the world.
Health Minister Thanos Plevris said the decision to ease restrictions was “based on the epidemiological data and suggestions from experts.” Plevris said all measures will be re-evaluated in September.
