Tinos and Serifos demand explanation from England over “quarantine list”

Local authorities on the islands of Tinos and Serifos have strongly protested England’s decision to put them on a “quarantine list.” With letters to the British Embassy in Athens and to Transport Minister Grants Shapps, the mayors of Tinos and Serifos demand transparency in the epidemiological data and criteria that were used for London’s travel advise.

At the same time, the two mayors demand the intervention of the Greek Tourism Ministry and the Greek Tourism Agency for the removal of the islands form that “defamatory decision.”

In his protest letter, the Mayor of Tinos wrote among others “we would like you to do what is necessary to let us know the criteria by which our island was included in the list of Greek quarantine destinations by the British Government and we ask for to take immediate actions to restore the truth, to remove the obvious defamatory decision and remove Tinos from this list.”

“After the successful management of the crisis by the local authorities of our island, we unequivocally declare and prove in practice that Tinos was, is and will remain an extremely safe and hospitable destination for Greeks and visitors from abroad, including English friends,” the Tinos Municipality stressed.

At the same time, it asks for the intervention of the Greek Tourism Ministry and the Greek Tourism Agency for the lifting of this “defamatory decision.”

In its letter to Grant Shapps, the Municipality of Serifos expressed its “surprise that the island was excluded from the Corridor List, given the fact that Serifos is an island without airport and therefore there can be no flights to / from Great Britain..”

Stressing that the percentage of British tourists visiting Serifos, does not exceed 5% to 7%, out of the total number of tourists coming from abroad, “it is therefore questionable, the percentage of representation that these people may have in  sample testing ,so to significantly influence  the decision of the British government.

The letter stressed that Serifos was the first Greek island  to install a wide network of disinfection stations, marked in four languages, from the entrance of the port to the most remote village. In addition, all the health protocols were strictly observed by the professionals of the island and the tourist season went smoothly.

“For the above reasons, we ask to be given the reasoning behind the decision,” the Serifos municipality stressed.

Also the head of Greek Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said on Tuesday, that epidemiological data on the two islands do not justify England’s decision.