Freedom only for the vaccinated: the Greek government announced the lifting of all covid restrictions in March

The Greek government is moving towards phasing out the few remaining measures, with a final deadline in March. Then, according to experts and an assessment of the current course of the pandemic, all restrictive measures will probably be lifted, except for the use of a mask, which will remain with us for a long time.

Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias declared on Tuesday: “We must be ready by March 1st. I asked everyone – governors, mayors, hotel owners, businessmen who run organized beaches – to be ready by March. Because this year the guests will arrive in Greece early and leave late,” the minister wrote on Twitter.

Εχω ζητήσει από όλους, περιφερειάρχες, δήμαρχους, ξενοδόχους, επιχειρηματίες υγειονομικού ενδιαφέροντος, εμπόρους, όσους διαχειρίζονται οργανωμένες παραλίες, να είναι έτοιμοι από τον Μάρτιο. Γιατί οι επισκέπτες θα έρθουν νωρίς φέτος στην Ελλάδα και θα φύγουν αργά. @x2_action24

— Vassilis Kikilias (@Vkikilias)

Εχω ζητήσει από όλους, περιφερειάρχες, δήμαρχους, ξενοδόχους, επιχειρηματίες υγειονομικού ενδιαφέροντος, εμπόρους, όσους διαχειρίζονται οργανωμένες παραλίες, να είναι έτοιμοι από τον Μάρτιο. Γιατί οι επισκέπτες θα έρθουν νωρίς φέτος στην Ελλάδα και θα φύγουν αργά. @x2_action24

— Vassilis Kikilias (@Vkikilias) February 8, 2022

“>February 8, 2022

In an interview with Action24 TV channel, Kikilias emphasized, speaking about the new tourism season: “Already from the first days of 2022, the number of bookings has increased dramatically for the hotel business, as well as for all professions related to tourism. The demand of airlines for slots, places at Greek airports is increasing. From April, we will have 14 flights a day from the US, high-level tourists who bring in very high incomes.”

Assessing that this year foreign guests will arrive early and leave late, Kikilias stressed that “the big goal is to extend the tourist season.”

He added: “The investments made and housing upgrades bring much better quality tourists at any time of the year. We want the French to come to Greece for 8 weeks of school holidays. We want Israeli tourists to come during their holy holiday month, September. We want to revive and support spa tourism, wellness, medical tourism, which is a huge source of income in Northern Europe, Germany and Austria.”

The trend towards lifting restrictions and returning to normal life is already being recorded across Europe, as evidenced by yesterday’s joint conference of European Union foreign and health ministers, which is taking place in Lyon. All discussions were dominated by the view that the lifting of measures is now mandatory and necessary to save the economy, and health ministers of Member States are on the same wavelength.

All indulgences will apply only to the vaccinated – for the unvaccinated, all previous restrictions will continue to apply.

In the next period and until the end of February, you can see the first lifting of restrictions, which will concern either the capacity of stores or seats in transport, catering and stadiums.

Well-informed sources say that it is not worth waiting for an immediate relaxation of all measures immediately. However, already in early March, perhaps, there will be no restrictions. At the same time, it should be taken for granted that the last measure that the government will take is a ban on carnival events this year as well.

However, with the removal of restrictions that are likely to affect entertainment, there will be a necessary relaxation. And most importantly, all these indulgences will apply only to the vaccinated, and for the unvaccinated, all restrictions will continue to apply, the most basic of which is the ban on entering the premises.

Emphasis on the economy

If nothing changes and the planned lifting of restrictions is implemented, it is clear that the government wants to arrive by mid-March with a full and open economy at all levels. Finally, after 2 years of restrictions, a “normal Easter” will follow on April 24, and a week later, on May 1, a “bold” increase in the minimum wage will come, as the government has already announced. It can be seen from the above that the government, after a very difficult winter, wants, starting from March, to carry out a total recovery with an emphasis on the economy.

The government has to face an additional problem, because after the seven-month deadline set by the second batch, 300,000 Greeks who have not received the third, booster vaccination, are considered unvaccinated. The government does not see this as a problem since most of them were reportedly not informed(!?). This is evidenced by the fact that in recent days about 35,000 citizens have signed up for the third batch. At this rate, it is estimated that a very large percentage of 300,000 people will receive a booster in early March.

Start of hotel booking and tourism recovery

Tourism Minister Vassilis Kikilias declared on Tuesday: “We must be ready by March 1st. I asked everyone – governors, mayors, hotel owners, businessmen who run organized beaches – to be ready by March. Because this year the guests will arrive in Greece early and leave late,” the minister wrote on Twitter.

Εχω ζητήσει από όλους, περιφερειάρχες, δήμαρχους, ξενοδόχους, επιχειρηματίες υγειονομικού ενδιαφέροντος, εμπόρους, όσους διαχειρίζονται οργανωμένες παραλίες, να είναι έτοιμοι από τον Μάρτιο. Γιατί οι επισκέπτες θα έρθουν νωρίς φέτος στην Ελλάδα και θα φύγουν αργά. @x2_action24

— Vassilis Kikilias (@Vkikilias)

Εχω ζητήσει από όλους, περιφερειάρχες, δήμαρχους, ξενοδόχους, επιχειρηματίες υγειονομικού ενδιαφέροντος, εμπόρους, όσους διαχειρίζονται οργανωμένες παραλίες, να είναι έτοιμοι από τον Μάρτιο. Γιατί οι επισκέπτες θα έρθουν νωρίς φέτος στην Ελλάδα και θα φύγουν αργά. @x2_action24

— Vassilis Kikilias (@Vkikilias) February 8, 2022

“>February 8, 2022

In an interview with Action24 TV channel, Kikilias emphasized, speaking about the new tourism season: “Already from the first days of 2022, the number of bookings has increased dramatically for the hotel business, as well as for all professions related to tourism. The demand of airlines for slots, places at Greek airports is increasing. From April, we will have 14 flights a day from the US, high-level tourists who bring in very high incomes.”

Assessing that this year foreign guests will arrive early and leave late, Kikilias stressed that “the big goal is to extend the tourist season.”

He added: “The investments made and housing upgrades bring much better quality tourists at any time of the year. We want the French to come to Greece for 8 weeks of school holidays. We want Israeli tourists to come during their holy holiday month, September. We want to revive and support spa tourism, wellness, medical tourism, which is a huge source of income in Northern Europe, Germany and Austria.”

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