Greek Covid advisory issued for travelers coming from China
Greece’s National Organization for Public Health (EODY) issued on Saturday a new advisory requiring travelers on direct flights from China to present negative Covid test carried out 48 hours from departure.
The new rules come three days after the EU’s Integrated Political Crisis Response group (IPCR) recommended that member states introduce restrictions. An earlier meeting chaired by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed that Greece would follow an EU directive as a precaution.
EODY’s proposals also state that passengers boarding in transit flights from China will be strongly recommended to wear a face mask both on the airplane and at airports. Such masks should also be worn by all other travellers, in addition to staff members and airline staff at the airpot.
Greek health authorities will carry out genomic sampling of airplane waste from direct flights to China, and to urban waste from the Athens International Airport, to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variations.
Furthermore, vulnerable population groups are advised to be vaccinated with booster shots, following the related directions of the National Vaccination Committee.
