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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

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Danish stores sold a significantly lower quantity of alcohol and cigarettes over the counter last year, new data from Statistics Denmark show.

Are Danes cutting back on cigarettes and alcohol?

Some 3,852 cigarettes were sold year, which amounts to 804 per person over the age of 18. But that compares to a figures of 854 per person on 2022.

Cigarette sales in Denmark have been declining since 2018.

Sales of sprits, beer and wine fell by 7.8 percent, 5.3 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.

Danish business sold the equivalent of 44.4 million litres of pure alcohol, which works out at 11.9 units per week on average for each person over the age of 18.

Although that is a lower value than in 2022, it still exceeds the amount recommended by the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen).

The Health Authority recommends that adults over 18 drink no more than 10 units per week and no more than four in a single day.

READ ALSO: Should Denmark raise the minimum age for buying alcohol?

“The numbers are still too high and it’s an average that could have a skewed distribution,” University of Southern Denmark professor, Janne Tholstrup, said in relation to the alcohol sales figures. Tholstrup has published research on Denmark’s alcohol culture.

That is in spite of a 30-year-trend of falling alcohol consumption, according to the professor.

“The majority of Danes stay under the recommended 10 unite per week. That means there is a large group with a persistently excessive consumption of alcohol,” she said.

The Statistics Denmark figures also show that sales of loose tobacco – such as the type used in roll-up cigarettes and pipes – also fell last year. Some 58 tonnes less were sold compared to 2022.

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