Greek Government Officially Closes Most Hotels

After shutting down seasonal hotels, the Greek government on Sunday published the decision to close the country’s year-round hotels, amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The joint ministerial decision to temporary shut down all hotels was published in the Government Gazette and comes into force at 11pm today (March 23) through to April 30.

For hotels with occupants (10 percent), the regulation applies as of March 26. In the given time, the decision foresees the operation of one accommodation facility per region with the exception of Athens and Thessaloniki, where three facilities will be allowed to operate.

Additionally, according to the decision, certain hotels and facilities may be excluded from the ban in order to offer accommodation to armed forces, security forces, medical, nursing or healthcare personnel, education staff,  EU officials, impacted individuals, asylum seekers or refugees, and students.

The law stipulates that works or projects inside the facilities are allowed without public presence.

The government decision can be found (in Greek) here.

Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Sunday a national lockdown which took effect earlier Monday – through to April 6 – in efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, which has thus far infected 624 people and left 17 dead.