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Experts Fear Travel May Bring New Covid-19 Variants to Greece

Travel and COVID-19 coronavirus in Greece, Europe. COVID mark in tourist passport on map with Athens. Tourism hit by corona virus. Medical test at border control due to coronavirus pandemic.

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Greek health experts are expressing concern that the Covid-19 pandemic may potentially enter a fourth wave in the coming months due to a slowing vaccination rollout and new variants entering the country through travel and tourism.

Epidemiologists are pointing to the emergence in Greece of new strains brought over by foreign tourists as being responsible for a possible new outbreak despite significantly lower daily Covid infection and death tolls.

Greece on Sunday recorded 209 new coronavirus cases and 17 deaths. At the same time, more than 7.5 million people have been vaccinated against the deadly virus. Health experts are warning however that the vaccination drive must be accelerated.

In the meantime, President of the Athens and Piraeus Hospital Doctors’ Association (EINAP), Matina Pagoni reiterated that Greeks will not need to wear masks once 80 percent of the population is vaccinated. She went on to stress however, that until that time, people should wear masks during their holidays particularly where crowding is observed.

Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Professor Theodoros Vassilakopoulos also warned that the pandemic is far from over, particularly in view of the cooler temperatures in fall, stressing that vaccination is of vital importance to create herd immunity before that.

Speaking on Mega television, another medical doctor, Nikos Tzanakis said he expects that 75 percent of the population will have been vaccinated by the end of the month, adding however that inevitably tourists will be bringing in new strains.

“Right now the Indian variant is transmitted 40-60 percent more than the British strain… This is the mutation we’re concerned about, we’re talking about a fourth wave in September, but this variant may also be carried in by tourists, so we may have a fourth wave in the summer, as well,” he said.

With regard to masks, microbiology professor Alkiviadis Vatopoulos told SKAI channel that he expects the government’s Covid-19 committee to recommend scrapping the requirement.

“By early 2022, we will be treating the coronavirus like the flu,” he said, but like others before him did not rule out the possibility of a new coronavirus wave in the fall to hit the unvaccinated harder.

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  1. Alexander Webster Reply

    There are too many scaremongers too many frightened people notknowing who to believe.The answer vaccination,don’t let the beast get a toe hold.Vaccination should be compulsory.People should be able to live their lives….

  2. Lesley Warrell Reply

    Well said Mr Ferguson!
    You do your ‘homework’ . People are still getting the virus after receiving 2 jabs.
    People are hospitalised after receiving the jab, worldwide not just here in Greece.
    Check out numbers from USA CDC, NHS …. they under report numbers but
    they do report!!
    Even Dr Fauci is facing huge investigations now on how and what he instrumented
    in the American Lab in Wuhan.
    Wake up People! For Gods sake…… There will be more lockdowns! Fear and suffering implemented by the few seems to be grinding us into submission.
    There are scores of wonderful doctors nurses scientists Nobel prize winners
    lawyers virologists epidemiologists who dispute the mainstream narrative.
    Join them and really get back your freedom as a human.

  3. Debbie Reply

    Then make people be vaccinated, No vaccine, NO TRAVEL, we are booked for September and I want everyone vaccinated or stay home.

  4. Jinty Carrino Reply

    I WANT THE VACCINATION BUT I CANT GET IT BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT REQUIRES ME TO HAVE A TEMPORARY AMKA. I have applied for the correct paperwork but I have had NO response.
    Can you help in any way because there happens to be many hundreds of people in the same position.
    No AMKA No Jab!

    As a citizen of the world in a pandemic I am entitled to the vaccination.

  5. R Ferguson Reply

    Oh get a life who are these experts, there have been so many variants and scaremongering some of these people will not give up. There is a 99.9 % recovery rate now, there are drugs to treat it, we live with viruses from we are born. They even fix the death figures, ask yourselves how many people were killed by the virus on its own, and how many terminally ill, seriously ill people died with it. The average age is still 82, we need to get our freedom and lives back.

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