TOPLINE
Greece officially launched its 2021 tourism season Friday, reopening museums and beaches after a dismal year for the country that relies heavily on tourists, but the nation is implementing its own vaccine and testing requirements for visitors as the EU is yet to bring in its bloc-wide travel certificate.
KEY FACTS
As of Friday, tourists from countries in the EU, the U.S., the U.K. and Israel, will be allowed to visit Greece if they can prove they have been fully vaccinated or provide a negative Covid-19 test, tourism minister Harry Theoharris announced. Greece has eased local coronavirus restrictions and lifted its seven-day quarantine requirement for visitors, meaning tourists can travel locally and stay out later than the 12:30a.m curfew.
The U.S. State Department still warns against travel to Greece, in line with the recommendations in place for many other countries.
SURPRISING FACT
Greece is reportedly waiving testing requirements for those vaccinated with Russian and Chinese shots, only one of which (Sinopharm) has been authorized by the WHO. With a number of the countries relying heavily on the Chinese vaccines suffering outbreaks, there is some doubt over the shot’s efficacy.