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HEALTH

Tourists from Sweden welcome in Greece but with restrictions

Sweden was included in Greece's border reopening on Saturday but those who fly from Stockholm must be quarantined upon arrival.

Tourists from Sweden welcome in Greece but with restrictions
People visit the Pnyx Hill in Athens overlooking the ancient Acropolis on May 29, 2020 as Greece eases lockdown measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP

Sweden was initially one of several countries that were excluded from entering Greece, when the country announced its first stage of border reopening on Friday.

However, on Saturday, Greece updated and expanded its guidelines on which travellers will be allowed into the country from June 15th.

Now visitors from countries that have been severely affected by the coronavirus will be allowed into Greece.

It will decided on which airport you arrive from, not which country you come from, a Greek government spokesman told AFP news agency. Those flying in from the worst affected regions will be forced to quarantine upon arrival. 

According to a document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece will refer to the European Aviation Safety Authority list of airports with a high risk of contamination. The Stockholm region is currently included in this list, along with regions in Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. and the whole of Belgium. No airports in any of the other Scandinavian countries are included in the list.

If travelling from an airport that is not on the list, only random testing will be conducted at the airport in Greece.

If arriving from a listed high-risk airport, the passenger will be tested for the coronavirus on arrival. If it's negative, the passenger has to self-quarantine for seven days. If it's positive, the passenger must quarantine under supervision for 14 days, according to the document from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Between June 15 and June 30, only flights to the international airports of the capital Athens and Thessaloniki are allowed. Other regional airports open on July 1.  Any updates or changes to listed airports will only occur if EASA's list is updated, a Greek government spokesman told AFP.  

 

Member comments

  1. Greece is quite desperate for tourist’s money so even this will be overlooked. Swedes just have to be creative is all.

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

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Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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