Mykonos Covid-19 Restrictions Lifting Expected on July 26

The additional restrictive measures that were imposed last weekend on the island of Mykonos to curb the further spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) will remain in force until Monday, July 26, the Greek authorities announced on Thursday.

Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias.

Speaking during a Covid-19 media briefing, Greek Civil Protection Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias said the situation on the island will be re-evaluated over the next few days and announcements will follow.

“For Mykonos, the data at the moment shows a high epidemiological burden but also a partial stabilization of the situation, as well as a slight downward trend,” Hardalias said, adding that no new outbreaks have been recorded on the island.

Measures imposed on the popular Greek island included an overnight curfew (1am to 6am) and a 24-hour music ban.

“The additional measures, which went into force on Saturday, have managed to partially stop the further spread of the virus and the exponential increase of cases,” the deputy minister said.

Moreover, he clarified that if more outbreaks are recorded in other areas, local restrictions will be applied with measures similar to those of Mykonos.

“Our goal is for our country to continue to send out the message that Greece was and remains a safe tourism destination and this is exactly the message we are sending by imposing local measures that are based exclusively on epidemiological data,” he said.

Unvaccinated tourism workers in Greece must test for Covid-19

The deputy minister then announced that all of the country’s unvaccinated workers in tourism, coastal shipping (ferries) and the food & beverage sector will have to test for the virus twice a week, extending the measure that was originally announced only for six areas.

The workers of the aforementioned sectors will have to take two coronavirus tests a week – the first being a self-test and the second a rapid antigen test. All workers must register their Covid-19 test results on the Ergani (national employment monitoring system) online platform that can be accessed through the self-testing.gov.gr website by using their AMKA (social security) number.

Updates to Covid-19 risk map

While providing updates to Greece’s Covid-19 risk-assessment map, Hardalias stressed that the epidemiological situation of the country requires vigilance and increased attention.

According to the deputy minister, the only area in Greece that has turned green (Level 1) since last week’s evaluation is the island of Kythnos.

Source: https://covid19.gov.gr/covid-map-en/

The following regional units have moved to orange (Level 3): Pieria, Karditsa, Achaia, Corinth, Lassithi and Chania (except Gavdos). Also in orange status are the municipalities of Leros, Zakynthos, North Corfu, Central Corfu and the Diapontian Islands, South Corfu, Kos, western Lesvos, Leros, Mytilene, Sifnos, Serifos, Milos, Trizinia, Antiparos and Rhodes.

Also, the regional units of Evros (except Samothrace), Florina, Trikala, Serres, Pella, Fokida, Fthiotida, Lakonia (except the municipality of Elafonisos), Kilkis, Evritania, Kavala, Drama and Imathia have moved to yellow (Level 2). Also in yellow status are the following municipalities: Skyros, Kalymnos, Lipsi, Paxi, Kimolos, Egina, Poros, Hydra, Alonissos and Skopelos.

Greece’s color-coded risk-assessment map which can be found here in English.

Moreover, Hardalias highlighted that the Delta variant is being detected more and more in Greece.

Speaking during the briefing, Vana Papaevaggelou, infectious diseases specialist and member of the Covid-19 health committee, said that the Delta variant is 44 percent more infectious than the UK variant (labelled as Alpha).

Greek health authorities on Thursday announced 2,604 new coronavirus cases and 5 deaths.

Since the start of the pandemic, the total number of cases in the country has reached 469,042. The Covid-19 death toll in Greece is 12,875.