Greece Drops Covid-19 Requirements for Country Entry

Passengers making their way to a checkpoint upon their arrival at Athens International Airport Photo source: European Union / Yorgos Karahalis

As of May 1, travelers coming to Greece will no longer be required to display an EU Digital Covid Certificate (EUDCC), recovery certificate, or test to enter the country, the Greek Health Ministry announced on Thursday.

More specifically, the government’s Covid committee decided unanimously starting May 1:

– travelers to Greece will be able to enter the country without presenting a digital covid certificate which indicates whether someone has been vaccinated against Covid-19, a recovery certificate or a negative test

– admission to restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and entertainment venues will be allowed to all. The vaccination certificate, test or proof of recovery requirement has been dropped

– restaurants, cafes, bars, shops and entertainment venues will be able to operate at full (100 percent) capacity

– mask wearing outdoors is no longer necessary but the Covid committee strongly advises the use of face masks indoors

Photo: Shutterstock

– school children will no longer be required to self-test and college students will not be required to take rapid tests

– unvaccinated employees and teachers will be required to present one rapid test per week (from the current two). This does not apply to medical staff.

Additional details will be outlined in the relevant ministerial decision.

It should be noted that during a press conference earlier this month, Health Minister Thanos Plevris reiterated that Covid measures are being lifted temporarily until September, when the situation will be reassessed. The same, he said, will apply to the face mask rule.

“Cases are dropping significantly. Today, we have 7,800 cases which means that the pandemic is subsiding, which is very important… we are returning to normalcy, following the course of action of all the other European countries that are slowly dropping the measures and starting to live normally,” said Deputy Health Minister Mina Gaga on Thursday.

Plevris first announced plans to lift Covid restrictions on April 13 noting that Greece was following the example of other European countries.