Greece will open to tourists in mid-May thanks to rapid coronavirus vaccination roll-out, officials say
- Country will welcome visitors from overseas who are vaccinated, have antibodies or test negative for coronavirus, Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis says
- An acceleration of its domestic Covid-19 vaccination programme will provide a ‘wall of immunity’ for Greek residents, the government says
Greece hopes to reopen for tourists in mid-May, thanks to an acceleration of its coronavirus vaccination programme which will provide a “wall of immunity” for residents, its government says.
The southern European country’s “Operation Freedom” will be made possible thanks to an expected increase in vaccine deliveries during the second quarter, including over a million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, spokeswoman Aristotelia Peloni said in Athens.
The government aims to finish vaccinating all the over-60s by May, which would provide “a first wall of immunity” against the virus.
Despite a rise in Covid-19 cases “Greece is ready with a complete protocol for summer 2021”, said Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis, specifying that tourists would be welcomed from May 14, a month before the start of the traditional tourist season.
Such tourists will have to show that they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, have antibodies against the virus or have recently tested negative. On top of that “all tourists will be subject to random testing”, said Theoharis.
So far one million of the 11 million Greek population have received a vaccine jab, including 400,000 who have finished the vaccination course by receiving a second dose.