Greece has always been one of the most popular summer destinations. Its islands attract millions of people, particularly in the months of June, July, August and September. A tourism that, after the crisis of last season, has marked an excellent recovery (arrivals have increased by 130% compared to last year), at least until now. Until the Delta variant began to sow concern throughout Europe, including Greece.
In fact, the surge in reported infections has alerted the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), which has marked the Greek islands of the southern Aegean in dark red on its Covid-19 map, advising against travel “not necessary”. And it could ruin the holidays of those who wanted to enjoy the beaches and clubs of Mykonos, Ios and other islands, besieged by the worrying spread of a new wave of the virus.
More controls and cops on the beach in Mykonos and Ios
To intensify checks, Athens has decided to send more police officers, especially in the places frequented by younger people. Greek authorities have already sent 186 policemen to Mykonos, up from 56 last year, while another 30 officers have been deployed in Ios. Deputy Minister of Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said the two islands were “one step away” from new restrictions. But the situation on the islands of Zakynthos, Tinos, Lefkada, Santorini, Paros and Rhodes is also worrying.
Tourism Minister Haris Theoharis spoke to Guardian of two different trends: “While hotels and family venues are diligently implementing the protocols, there is more congestion in bars, especially among the younger ones.” And it is precisely in young people between the ages of 20 and 30 that infection rates have increased in Greece, where tourism accounts for almost 25% of GDP, and for the Aegean islands it is a vital sector to recover from the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
In early July, authorities were forced to impose a curfew and a music ban on Mykonos after contagion rates skyrocketed. On Wednesday, Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochidois warned that it is only a matter of time before similar restrictions are imposed on Ios. “Now there is a real danger that the island will be closed.”
The Delta variant in Europe
There is not only Greece struggling with the Delta variant in Europe. Many states have already launched, or are evaluating, new countermeasures to contain the growth of infections. The EU digital Covid Certificate, the European Green Pass, was supposed to guarantee free movement and a resumption of travel and tourism, but more and more countries are backtracking. Limits to travel and movement are, in fact, also in the agendas of Germany, France e England.
The German Council of Ministers has decided that starting from August 1st to enter the country it will be necessary to present a negative Covid test, except for those who can prove a complete vaccination, the successful recovery and children under 12 years. And the UK, where the new daily infections have returned to drop below 30,000, confirmed that those traveling from France to England will for now remain excluded, even if vaccinated, from the exemption from the quarantine decreed starting from 2 August for those who, coming from the rest of the EU (including Italy) and the US, received the double dose. There France is sending military doctors and aid to the French Antilles to relieve pressure on local hospitals that are facing a heavy wave of coronavirus. The current infection rate on the island is over a thousand cases per 100,000 people, the highest figure in France, which led to the decision to introduce the lockdown a Martinica.
Governments’ goal is to avert new health emergencies and lockdowns in the face of a variant that causes an easily spread infection such as chickenpox.