Chaotic scenes in Mykonos, after the Greek jet-set island went into partial lockdown last weekend following an explosion in the number of corona infections. Tourists who wanted to leave queued for hours for a PCR test, causing some to miss their flights.
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One in ten tests positive. The quarantine hotel on the island is therefore full, so that some infected tourists spend the night on the beach. Going into quarantine is also allowed elsewhere, but many accommodations refuse to accept the infected people. An 18-year-old Italian, whose story made it to the media, only found shelter after a day.
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Since this weekend, music in the catering industry has been banned and a curfew has been in effect from 1 a.m. The cause is the rapid spread of the coronavirus, because many people are close to each other. The measures are disastrous for an island like Mykonos, famous for its nighttime indulgences. Many holidaymakers are trying to leave the island and it is raining cancellations. Mayor Konstantinos Koukas is outraged. “The only thing the measures will ensure is that visitors from Mykonos will move to other islands,” he wrote on Facebook. It is even more frustrating that Mykonos is at the forefront of vaccinations: 90 percent of the local population is vaccinated. But it is nothing compared to the multitude of visitors.
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Strict measures
The government is going to check more strictly that the parties have not moved to villas, the government announced. Fines can be up to 200,000 euros. The neighboring islands of Paros, Ios and Santorini are also “one step away” from stricter measures, according to Civil Defense Minister Nikos Hardalias. The first two in particular have a lively nightlife scene.
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Unvaccinated employees in the tourism industry on these islands, and in two regions of Crete, are now required to show negative test results twice a week. Furthermore, the Greek coast guard has taken over the responsibility of corona checks on all ferries from the shipping companies. As a result, last weekend alone, 2500 passengers were refused. They could not demonstrate that they had been vaccinated, tested negative or had recently been cured of corona.
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Suspension
As elsewhere in Europe, the number of corona infections has risen again in recent weeks, mainly due to the contagious delta variant. The government has therefore already decided that guests must be obliged to sit in all catering establishments and that only vaccinated guests may enter the interior spaces of restaurants (with the exception of toilet visits). Furthermore, all medical personnel are required to be vaccinated, on pain of suspension.
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The restrictions on Mykonos will remain in effect until Monday.
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Watch our videos about corona and the holiday below:
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