Greece will pay for the accommodation of tourists tested positive for coronavirus during their visit, government spokesman Stelios Petsas said on Monday. “They will be hosted in a hotel and the cost will burden the Greek state,” he added.
“We have done it in the past and we will continue to do so,” he said during a briefing to journalists.
Petsas added that Greece has been paying for the accommodation of those coming to the country and have to remain in quarantine, ever since Greece closed its borders.
“Thousands of people have been through the quarantine process,” he stressed recalling that COVID-19 tests are been conducted at the Athens International Airport, visitors stay in a hotel for one night until the test result comes out and then depending on the result they can remain in a relaxed 7-day quarantine or under strict monitoring for 14 days, if they are positive.
“We will continue to do so, with one difference. We expect far fewer cases – or hopefully none – as the epidemiological cycles in the European countries from where we expect tourist flows are coordinating downwards,” the government spokesman said.
“Our aim is to ensure the maximum safety for residents and tourists,” Petsas said. However, he did not clarify whether the Greek state will pay also for food and medicine.
Visitors from initially 29 countries will be allowed in the country as of June 15. There will be no quarantine but only random testing.
More information on tourism in Greece amid the pandemic here.
If you get randomly tested upon arrival, but youre in transit, what will happen for those travelers? Do they need to go in a hotel for 24h and miss their flight or?
Obviously, international transit passengers cannot be tested, otherwise transit does not mean transit. If however, you leave the international zone of the airport (the transit zone) then you will pass through immigration control into Greece and will be tested in accordance with the rules at that time.
Of course, I assume that you mean in transit to another country. If you mean to another part of Greece, then that’s your problem. It is a completely different situation, and is not legally “in transit” at all.