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Testing Positive for Covid-19 in Greece

What is the probability of an American tourist getting Covid-19 while visiting Greece?
I came across the following:

Greek authorities continue to announce very high numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country. As of the week starting August 15, 2022, Greece reports 55,769 cases and 4,712,025 cumulative cases according to the National Public Health Organization (https://eody.gov.gr/) and the Government of Greece (covid19.gov.gr/covid19-live-analytics).

What To Do if You Test Positive in Greece: Many U.S. citizens have reported testing positive for COVID-19 while visiting Greece and had to extend their stay and navigate Greek and U.S. requirements related to quarantine, testing, and travel documentation.

https://gr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/

Posted by
1419 posts

We’re in Greece at the moment and feel much safer out and about than in the UK. Incidence here is roughly one person in 300 as compared to one in 70 back home. Incidence in Greece is also clustered in cities: Athens and Thessaloniki have consistently had higher rates than elsewhere.

People are also more cautious here than in the UK. Masks are still mandatory on public transport and quite a lot of people are still wearing them in shops. At this time of year it’s also possible to eat outdoors comfortably so we aren’t going into buildings much at all.

I don’t know how all this compares to the US but I get the impression America is more like the UK than Greece.

It’s purely anecdotal but several friends who got Covid after returning to the UK thought they had caught it in the airport on landing. They’d relaxed and taken off masks but were mixing with people in passport and luggage queues.

Posted by
498 posts

Interesting. Thank you for sharing.

I was in Rome for three weeks in March but since then my mind has been not been on international travel. The number of new cases has continued to drop for a while, perhaps leading me to a false sense of security.

You can still, obviously, get Covid-19. I guess the worse thing is if I got it in the days leading up to my 14-day cruise from Athens.

Better to be cautious.

Do international travelers, I wonder, still get tested for Covid before they depart their home country?