Update – 11/06/2021
June 11, 2021
Who we are
Action Digital is a full-service digital agency based in Cyprus offering services in web
As of the latest update by the Greek authorities, the total number of confirmed Covid-19 diagnosed cases in Greece is 413,170. 24 new deaths were reported raising the total number to 12,370. The number of patients treated in intensive care units is currently 376. 781 new cases were announced yesterday in Greece. 365 of the new cases were found in the Attica region and 81 new cases in the Thessaloniki region.
A continuing drop in viral loads brings shorter curfew hours and the opening up of more activities, a government official announced on Wednesday.
Nikos Hardalias, deputy minister in charge of civil protection, said that a committee of experts advising the Health Ministry approved a further reduction of curfew hours to just three-and-a-half per night, from 1.30 a.m. to 5 a.m. from Saturday.
If the coronavirus pandemic recedes further, the curfew will be lifted entirely at the beginning of July, Hardalias added.
Also on Saturday, several activities will be resumed or extended. Music will be allowed in cafes, bars and restaurants, but only in open spaces and all persons in those spaces must be seated. In case crowds congregate, the business will be fined 5,000 euros for a first violation, and, if it violates regulations again, will be shut down for 15 days.
Cafes, bars and restaurants in arcades will be allowed to open on Saturday, provided they have two exits, to facilitate air circulation.
Theaters, cinemas and other entertainment spaces will be allowed to seat more people: From 50% now, allowed capacity in spaces with up to 1,000 seats will increase to 75%, in venues with up to 5,000 seats it will come to 70%, in venues with up to 15,000 seats to 65%, and, in larger venues, attendance will be capped at 10,000.
On Monday, June 14, university labs and medical school clinics will reopen, as well as adult education activities at universities.
From July 1, maximum attendance at catered receptions will increase to 300 from 100 currently. Country fairs will be allowed to resume only in regional units where at least 50% of the population has been vaccinated.
These further steps to normality have been made possible also due to the pace of vaccinations. On Wednesday, 420,300 openings were made available for vaccinations with the Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias said.
Also, vaccination of people confined at home will start at the end of June, using the Johnson & Johnson, which requires only one shot, and with the help of private doctors, Kikilias said.
Greece could be added to the UK’s “Green List,” otherwise known as a no-quarantine list, soon, according to the UK’s ambassador to Greece, who spoke about the matter on Tuesday.
In a webinar conference on tourism and security, Kate Smith appeared optimistic that the UK could update its “traffic light” system, moving Greece from an “Amber” country to a “Green” nation.
The conference at which Smith spoke on the UK travel guidelines was organized by the Ministry of Civil Protection and the Hellenic Police, with the support of the British Embassy. The conference focused on tourism through the lens of tourist safety, and a number of encouraging statistics, including data on crime reduction, were discussed.
Smith also outlined the UK’s traffic light system, which is reviewed every three weeks — allowing countries to move from one status to another, depending on updated coronavirus statistics. She continued by stating that Greece has a high chance of moving from the UK’s amber list to the green list “soon,” but did not elaborate on whether she believed this change would occur during the next UK government review of the list.
Greece’s Minister of Tourism, Harry Theocharis, echoed her confidence and highlighted that the country’s reopening to tourism has gone extremely well as coronavirus cases continue to decline steadily despite people continuing to travel into Greece. “We should be proud of the fact that Greece has a plan and implements it,” said Theocharis of the current coronavirus situation in the world tourist hotspot.
The UK government has issued a tiered list of countries, ranging from good-to-go “Green list” countries all the way to “Red list” countries, which should not be visited at all unless travel is unavoidable. Green list countries will require travelers to test negative before returning to the UK, as well as undergo a PCR test two days after arrival; however, they will not involve a quarantine for travelers when they arrive back in the UK.
The decision of the UK’s Ministry of Transport stated that tourists from the UK are only able to travel freely to Gibraltar, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands as of now.
The same list also includes small islands in the South Georgia and the South Sandwich archipelago, as well as the tiny islands of Agia Eleni, Tristan de Cunha and Ascension Island.
Portugal was originally on the green list, the only European destination to have the coveted position, but has since been removed during a routine review of the traffic light system.
Amber light nations will require 10 days of isolation upon travelers’ return to the UK. Vacationers will also need a negative test before their return flight and two PCR tests after arrival — one on day two and the second on day eight.
In this tier, there is also the option to take a PCR test on day five of quarantine in order to be allowed to exit quarantine early, which could be a relief for British travelers returning from Greece.
Unfortunately, Greece and its islands have been placed on the Amber list despite hopes that islands could be considered separately from the mainland for Green status.
Furthermore, the UK has stressed that ministers expect even Amber list countries to be treated as not viable options for vacation.
“It is very, very clear – you should not be going to an ‘Amber list’ country except for some extreme circumstance, such as the serious illness of a family member. You should not be going to an ‘Amber list’ country on holiday,” said Boris Johnson during the Prime Minister’s Question Time on May 19.
In more detail, the 781 new cases detected per Regional Unit:
