Greece lifts several covid -19 restrictions from May 1st

Greece has announced to remove all major COVID-19 restrictions from May 1 travellers will not need to carry their vaccination proof, COVID19 negative test report or proof of recovery.

On Wednesday April 13th, Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced the government’s roadmap for the lifting of a series of restrictive measures at least until September.

From May 1st until August 31st, the requirement to show the Covid passport indoors will be suspended, which means that unvaccinated people will be able to enter bars and cafes, cinemas, theaters, museums and gyms. According to Plevris, the possibility of lifting the requirement to show the European covid passport for foreigners wishing to enter Greece for the tourist season will also be examined in the near future.

Greece’s tourism sector showed a clear recovery in 2021, when it recorded a total of 14.7 million international visitors, double the number seen during first year of the pandemic, but less than half of the more than 31 million visitors in 2019.

The government is aiming to get a good financial injection from tourism again, at a time when the energy crisis has weighed down public coffers and consumers’ pockets. Plevris also announced that the mask will be eliminated indoors as of June 1, but in some spaces, to be specified shortly, its use will remain mandatory. In addition, from May, all public spaces, such as stadiums, cinemas and theaters, will be able to have a 100 % seating capacity.

In view of the easing of measures at a time when the rate of infection remains high, the government has opted to protect the most vulnerable population in particular and has therefore opened up the possibility of a fourth dose for those over 60 years of age.

In early April it opened the electronic platform to request an appointment for those over 80, followed by dates for those over 60 and 70. The experts of the vaccination committee have hinted that from September onwards this new booster jab could be opened to the entire population over 18 years of age.

Greece has also stopped the passenger locator form and has joined other European nations which are relaxing all COVID-19 restrictions. Recently, the Netherlands and France also removed pre-arrival testing for vaccinated visitors and Switzerland is also all set to remove its entry restrictions from May 2.