Greece officially cancels requirement for negative COVID-19 test from Czech travelers

After talks with Czech PM Andrej Babiš, Athens has reversed a decision to place the Czech Republic on its list of risk countries

ČTK

Written by ČTK Published on 14.08.2020 12:21:17 (updated on 14.08.2020) Reading time: 2 minutes

Prague, Aug 14 (CTK) – Greece has officially lifted the duty to submit negative COVID-19 tests for tourists flying from the Czech Republic, which was to be introduced on Monday, but travelers must still present a negative test at the land border crossings, the Czech embassy in Athens announced on its website today.

Czech travel agencies have welcomed the change. Greece dominates their sales this year, their representatives told CTK today.

“Greece is a key destination to us. This year, it clearly sells the most. Thanks to the fact that the Greek authorities cancelled the measure for Czech tourists to submit negative tests, we suppose that Greece will remain the main destination,” CK Fischer travel agency spokesman Jan Bezdek said.

The embassy warns that the Greek authorities might require a negative coronavirus test that is not more than 72-hour-old from Czechs if they arrive from another country, which Athens denotes as a risk destination. Out of the EU countries, those are Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Malta, Romania and Bulgaria.

The embassy also points out that Czechs will still have to fill in the electronic Passenger Locator Form (PLF) at least 24 hours in advance, same as now. On the basis of the PLF form, travelers will get a QR Code, which they must print or keep in their mobile phone.

The embassy also reminds that after the arrival, tourists might be selected for testing at random, and if they test positive for COVID-19, they would be isolated for two weeks in a quarantine hotel together with their nearest fellow passengers.

If Greece listed the Czech Republic among the risk countries, tourist flying from Czechia to Greece would have to submit negative COVID-19 test results. Czech representatives previously expressed surprise at the Greek plan and promised they would be striving for Athens to change its attitude.

Several thousand Czech tourists fly to Greece every week.

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