Advertisement

Greece considers second lockdown after tourists bring spike of cases

Greece is tightening up checks on people crossing the Bulgarian border - Getty
Greece is tightening up checks on people crossing the Bulgarian border - Getty

Greece could reintroduce some lockdown measures, after the country has seen a spike in Covid-19 cases following the return of tourism.

There are now more active infections in Greece than at any other point during the pandemic – 2,205 people in Greece are known to have the virus right now.

On Friday, 60 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus, the highest daily number since April 21. More than 100 new cases reported in the last 10 days have been among incoming tourists.

British holidaymakers are due to return to Greece from July 15, with UK flights resuming on that date. However, Greek authorities are now considering introducing stricter lockdown measures, potentially from as early as tomorrow (July 13).

Government spokesperson Stelios Petsas told local media: "We knew from the beginning that when we gradually opened the country’s gates to the world, we would have imported incidents."

He added that he is "determined to protect the majority from the frivolous few."

This could mean tougher border checks, stepping up inspections at bars and restaurants and potentially introducing travel restrictions from countries with higher rates of infection.

As of July 14, Bulgarians crossing the border into Greece must provide proof that they have tested negative in the past 72 hours, after the country registered a daily record of 330 new infections on Thursday last week.

Follow all the latest travel updates below.


03:18 PM

What have we learnt today?

What have we learnt today, in the world of travel?

  • Irish PM says Britons will still be quarantined on arrival

  • Nicola Sturgeon "will not shy away from imposing quarantine on English visitors to Scotland"

  • Hungary imposes border checks and quarantine

  • Tourists fill car parks in Snowdonia

  • Virgin Atlantic set to unveil £1bn rescue package ​

Scroll down for all the day's travel updates, and follow our live blog tomorrow.


02:21 PM

Traffic jams hit a record 595 miles in France

Traffic jams in France reached a record 595 miles (955km) by midday on Saturday July 11.

The bulk of the delays were due to a fatal road accident on the A7, near the city of Orange.

France traffic - Getty
France traffic - Getty

The French traffic information centre, Bison Fute, said: “The situation is exceptional. The extent of the traffic jams is much higher than on Saturday 13 July 2019.”


01:40 PM

Have you listened to our new podcast?

This week, we caught up with former Paralympian and TV presenter, Ade Adepitan, to hear about his life in travel. You can listen to the episode on the player below, and check out Ade's photographs here.

Postcards podcast - Ade Adepitan 07/07/20
Postcards podcast - Ade Adepitan 07/07/20

01:25 PM

Venice a "beautiful, glorious ghost town"

Our writer, Annabel Fenwick Elliott, has paid a visit to Venice, and has it all to herself.


12:48 PM

Nicola Sturgeon: I will not shy away from imposing quarantine on English visitors to Scotland

Nicola Sturgeon has said she will “not shy away” from imposing quarantine restrictions on visitors from England to Scotland, if it is necessary to protect public health.

Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon

The Scottish First Minister said that while she is not “immediately planning” to implement any restrictions on English travellers the possibility would be kept under review and that she would "take a very close look" at the measure.

Unionists reacted with anger to her latest statement, accusing her of attempting to “drive a wedge between Scotland and England”.

Read the full report here.


12:32 PM

UK travel ban hits Algarve businesses

The UK's ongoing quarantine on arrivals from Portugal, all-but ruling out trips to the popular European destination for British holidaymakers, has hit businesses in the Algarve.

On July 1 a ceremony marked the reopening of the Spain–Portugal border. - Getty
On July 1 a ceremony marked the reopening of the Spain–Portugal border. - Getty

Around 30 per cent of tourists in the Algarve are usually from the UK, and half of all arrivals in Faro are British.

One restaurant owner, Carlos Guerreiro, told Euronews:

"We made the investment hoping it would be a good year. At this time of year, we would have to serve between 300 and 350 people a day, including meals. We currently serve between 30 to 40."

A bar owner said:

"We have between 10 and 20 percent of our customer capacity throughout the day. And just when we start to have more movement when people leave after dinner - between 22.00–22.30, we have to close at 23.00."

This comes as the Portuguese ambassador to the UK spoke of "immense" and potentially "lasting" damage to his country with the UK travel ban, in an article for the Telegraph.


11:53 AM

Two men die in Marbella after tourist falls from hotel balcony

Two men, a British and a Spanish national, have died after a British tourist fell from a hotel balcony and landed on another man below.

The first victim, thought to be 50 and staying at the hotel, fell from the seventh floor of Marbella's Medlia Don Pepe Hotel early on Saturday morning.

He landed on another man, believed to be 43, who was sat on a ground floor terrace.

Police were called at 1.45am and declared both men dead at the scene. An investigation has been launched into how the man fell.


11:31 AM

Your travel questions, answered

You have been sending in your travel questions, including:

  • What if there is a resurgence of the pandemic in the destination I have booked?

  • What happens if my flight is cancelled at short notice?

  • What if I am exposed to Covid-19 while I’m in a destination?

  • What if an airline refuses to fly me home?

  • What if a new lockdown or travel restrictions are introduced in my part of the UK?

Nick Trend has the answers.


11:25 AM

Spas to reopen tomorrow

Spas in England will be able to reopen from July 13, and from July 22 in Scotland.

It has been a testing time for spa hotels who have weathered the Covid-19 storm, but many have resurfaced with stringent new measures and welcoming smiles behind patterned face masks.

Charlotte Johnstone gives an insight into what we can expect in spas with the latest easing of lockdown and what the new rules allow.

COMO Shambhala in Bali - opening September - will have staggered treatment times
COMO Shambhala in Bali - opening September - will have staggered treatment times

11:17 AM

Was the Swedish approach right all along?

"Not going into lockdown was described as “a mad experiment” at the time, but Sweden can look to the winter with less trepidation than most," writes Christopher Snowdon.

Read his comment piece here.


10:41 AM

Hungary imposes border checks and quarantine

Over in Hungary, the government has imposed new restrictions on cross-border travel as of Wednesday in order to prevent the spread of the coronavirus after a surge in new cases in several countries.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff announced the new policy today. Under the rules, Hungarian nationals returning from high risk countries listed as "yellow" and "red" will have to go through health checks at the border and will have to go into quarantine.

The same applies to foreigners coming from "yellow" countries, but their entry will be banned from "red" countries.

Countries in the Balkans and neighbouring Ukraine belong to the red category, among other states. Serbia and Romania are listed as "yellow", while travel from Croatia is free for the time being.


10:15 AM

Tourism returns to Wales

Tourism has resumed in Wales this weekend, and by 8am this morning some car parks in Snowdonia were already close to capacity.


09:47 AM

Arrival in France

Our reporter, Adrian Bridge, has arrived in France after hopping on a ferry across the Channel. You can follow his Tweets on the experience here.


09:35 AM

Where can you travel?

The Government last week gave the green light to overseas holidays. As of July 10, the FCO no longer advises against trips to 66 destinations, while 75 countries can now be visited by Britons without the need to self-isolate on their return.

Confusingly, however, some nations appear on one list, but not the other. Furthermore, many countries included on both lists still have their own restrictions in place. New Zealand, for example, could remain closed to foreign tourists until next year.

Nevertheless, 23 places (22 in Europe and one beyond) appear on both lists, and are welcoming UK travellers.

Here they are, along with the rules for every other country on the UK exemption lists.


09:29 AM

The view from the Greek border

Greece is conducting Covid-19 checks and tests at its land border with Bulgaria, after a spike of cases in recent days.

Greek border
Greek border
Greek border
Greek border
Greek border
Greek border
Greek border
Greek border

09:20 AM

Virgin Atlantic set to unveil £1bn rescue package

Virgin Atlantic will this week unveil a £1 billion rescue deal, ending months of uncertainty over the future of Sir Richard Branson’s airline, reports Oliver Gill.

Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic

Shai Weiss, the chief executive, has drawn up a four-year plan that will allow the carrier to survive even if flights to the US do not return until 2021.

Read the full report here.


09:11 AM

Irish PM: Britons will still be quarantined on arrival

Micheál Martin, Ireland's Taoiseach, has been speaking to Andrew Marr this morning about international travel, and suggested that reopening schools and hospitals was more important to his government than encouraging unnecessary trips abroad.

He said that Ireland would be "very cautious" about advising citizens to travel and confirmed that Brits visiting Ireland will still be subject to a quarantine.

Micheal Martin was speaking on the Andrew Marr show this morning - Getty
Micheal Martin was speaking on the Andrew Marr show this morning - Getty

Asked what Britain needs to do to get onto the "green list", Mr Martin added:

"Well I think the suppression of the virus is the key. We've watched reports where in certain parts of the UK there are still difficulties and areas have had to go into lockdown and so on.

"We're all in common facing this issue and this challenge. And that's why in out travel advisory, we're telling people not to travel for non essential purposes. Because our priority is to get our schools open towards the end of August, to also free up hospital capacity to deal with non Covid illnesses, and to try and get more activity there.

"So I think caution is the watchword here."

He added that later this month Ireland will unveil guidance on international travel for citizens, which will outline which countries are safer to visit based on ongoing transmission of Covid-19. The "metric" will be focused on places that are in a similar or better position than Ireland.


08:59 AM

What did we learn yesterday?

Yesterday, in the world of travel:

  • Baseless Portugal travel ban will cause 'lasting damage'

  • Jet2 suspends flights to Spain from Scotland after air bridge snub​

  • Belgium puts Leicester on 'red zone' list

  • TUI to cover costs if you catch coronavirus on holiday ​

  • Croatia makes face masks compulsory in public indoor spaces

  • A third of jobs at Edinburgh Airport under threat

Now, on with today's travel news.