Well, this is a great way for the airline industry to start up again. Not.
On Monday, June 1, 12 out of 91 passengers on a Qatar Airways flight that landed in Athens tested positive for COVID-19. In response, Greece announced the next day that they were going to suspend flight to and from Qatar until the middle of the month.
In mid-April, Greece had announced its tentative plans to open tourism this summer. At the time they were considering “health passports” vs. blood tests to prove visitors were free from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. I guess they went with blood tests. 😉
Anyway, when the flight from Doha landed in Athens, the 91 passengers were tested and, as per Greece’s protocol, spent the night in a designated hotel, awaiting the results.
12 of the passengers tested positive. They will remain in the hotel for 2 weeks. Because of the higher risk factor from being on the plane with them, the other 79 passengers will have to stay in the hotel for 7 days and then be retested. Greece will pay for their accommodations.
Greece has had a total of just shy 3,000 cases of COVID-19 and less than 200 deaths. The country is motivated to resume its tourism industry but also wants to keep its residents safe.
“The point is not to stop every economic activity in order to help the health situation, but it’s actually to find this balance, and for that, you need your health experts to guide you,” Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis said.
Greece will consider allowing flights from Qatar again after June 15th.
#stayhealthy #staysafe #washyourhands
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
