Greece Lifts COVID Curbs for Travelers Ahead of Key Summer Season

The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
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Greece Lifts COVID Curbs for Travelers Ahead of Key Summer Season

The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)
The blue lights of infinity pools and jacuzzis of luxurious hotels illuminate the village of Oia, on the island of Santorini, Greece, on Sept. 3, 2021. (AP)

Greece lifted COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday for foreign and domestic flights, its civil aviation authority said, ahead of the summer tourism season that officials hope will see revenues bouncing back from the pandemic slump.

To fly in or out of the country, travellers were previously required to show either a vaccination certificate, a certificate saying they had recovered from coronavirus or a negative test.

From May 1, passengers and crew will need only to wear a face mask, the civil aviation authority said.

The summer tourism season typically begins after the Greek Orthodox Easter, which was on April 24. Greece is expecting high numbers of visitors this year, with officials predicting revenues reaching 80% of 2019 levels. That was a record year before the pandemic brought travel to a halt.

With infections waning, restaurants and retail shops returned to 100% capacity on Sunday, allowing customers in without proof of vaccination but with a mask.

Greece has reported 3,323,922 cases so far and 29,153 deaths from COVID.



7 Dead, Dozens Injured after Commercial Bus Overturns in Mississippi

A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Florida Highway Patrol via AP)
A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Florida Highway Patrol via AP)
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7 Dead, Dozens Injured after Commercial Bus Overturns in Mississippi

A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Florida Highway Patrol via AP)
A tractor trailer dangles from a bridge on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Fla., early Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Florida Highway Patrol via AP)

Seven people, including a six-year-old and 16-year-old, were killed when a bus overturned east of Vicksburg, Mississippi, early Saturday, Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey said.
The two young victims were siblings, Reuters quoted the coroner as saying.
The Mississippi Highway Patrol said the incident took place around 12:40 a.m. on Interstate 20 near Bovina in Warren County when a 2018 Volvo commercial passenger bus traveling westbound left the roadway and overturned.
Thirty-seven passengers were transported to different hospitals with unknown injuries, the agency said. It said the co-driver was not transported.
"Anytime you have people injured or killed, it's tragic but when you have a situation like this where you have multiple fatalities and multiple injuries, it makes it even worse," Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace told an ABC affiliate.
Huskey said most of the passengers on the bus were Latin American.