The resumption of quarantine by Britain and Israel is a nightmare scenario for Greek tourism

There are many reports in the British press about the possibility of Greece being on a new list in Britain again, with the obligation of travelers returning from our country to be quarantined even if they are fully vaccinated.

It should be noted that from Monday 19 July the return to Britain from Greece and other tourist countries such as Spain, will be allowed, those who have been vaccinated, without obligation for quarantine, but this does not apply in the case of France, which entered a new list of restrictions.

Citing sources in the travel industry, the British press is predicting that after the creation of the additional list with the unofficial name “Amber Plus” and the inclusion of France in it, the British holiday countries are expected to for inclusion, ie Spain and Greece, where coronavirus cases are on the rise.

The decision of the British government late Friday for a mandatory quarantine of 10 days for all those who return from France even if they are fully vaccinated, caused shock in both the tourist market and in France. London cited the spread in France of the beta mutation, which had first been detected in South Africa.

Market experts in Britain now express fears of joining this list of countries such as Spain and Greece, but also Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Paul Charles, head of consulting firm PC Agency, told the Daily Mail that “the fear now is that the government will now control Spain and Greece and it is possible to add them to the ‘Amber Plus’ category.”

At the same time in the Balearic Islands of Spain, and especially in Mallorca and Ibiza, there is a huge crowd at the airport of British tourists rushing to leave before crossing these western Mediterranean islands in the early hours of Monday, in the Amber Plus list in which they remain for the time being.

In Britain, they seem to be more concerned about the Beta mutation than the dominant Delta, as some scientists have reported that the AstraZeneca vaccines used to vaccinate the majority of adult Britons are not as effective against the South African strain. As of Saturday, 1,073 cases of the beta variant had been recorded in the United Kingdom against 216,249 of the Delta mutation.

Possible “hit” from Israel as well

But apart from Britain, there is a great risk that Greece will be included in a list of countries with mandatory quarantine by Israel, a country that is of great interest to the Greek tourist market as many travelers from the Middle East prefer Greece for their holidays .

According to the Times of Israel, citing state channel Kan, Israel is expected to add Greece to the list of countries that require full quarantine for all repatriating travelers. That is, a 7-day quarantine will be required for returning tourists.

According to the article, this move is being examined by the officials after the increase of the infection rates in Greece, but also because a number of Israeli travelers were found positive on their return from our country.

“Adding Greece to the list of countries in Israel that require full quarantine would be a blow to the tourism industry there,” it said.

Greece is an extremely popular holiday destination for Israelis – according to Kan, there are 200-230 flights between the two countries each week.

It should be noted that according to the current measures, Israeli tourists returning from Greece should simply be isolated for 24 hours, or until they get the results of their test. Those who have been fully vaccinated are exempt from even this brief isolation.