Covid warning as Greece brings back hospital rules - full list and how to avoid
The warning about a worrying new Covid variant comes with millions of Brits planning to visit the popular tourist destination this summer.
Brits heading to Greece on holiday this summer have been warned that the country has seen a spike in Covid cases related to the new FLiRT variant.
Hospital admissions with the virus have soared in recent weeks - and Greek health officials have re-introduced rules that have not been seen since the height of the pandemic.
Mandatory masks and other protective measures have been reintroduced inwards at one hospital - with visitors being limited to two per patient and subject to a 48-hour rapid test requirement.
It comes after Greece’s National Public Health Organization, EODY, reported there had been a surge in Covid related hospital admissions. In total, Greece recorded 26 Covid deaths in the week starting July 8.
The same week, 669 new Covid patients were admitted to hospital. This was a 44 percent increase on the average weekly number of new admissions, over the previous month.
Metaxa Oncology Hospital in Piraeus, the port area of Athens, has reintroduced Covid rules.
Hospital Director Sarantos Efstathopoulos said the situation will be reassessed on July 29. Meanwhile, the President of the Association of Hospital Doctors of Athens and Piraeus (EINAP) warned Covid was causing "too many" hospitalisations and deaths.
EINAP has warned the outbreak is expected to continue until the end of this month. Its President, Matina Pagoni, told the Greek television network MEGA: "It’s summer, we’re going on vacation, we never said the coronavirus was gone. The truth is that this year, compared to last year, the cases have nothing to do with it.
"There are too many, there are many hospitalisations and also deaths. 21-22 deaths are too many.”
The city of Thessaloniki has also seen a rise in cases reported through sewage testing, reported EuroNews. Bulgaria, which shares a border with Greece, has also issued a warning to any of its residents visiting the neighbouring country this summer.
A spokesperson for the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: "In this regard and considering the large number of Bulgarian citizens visiting the country during the summer period, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends strict compliance with preventive and hygienic measures in the context of the spread of the disease."
It comes after UK health experts have suggested that FLiRT and LB.1 might be able to evade immunity. They say this is why people who have been vaccinated are still getting ill.
Dr Mariyam Malik, an NHS and private GP at Pall Mall Medical, said: "Increased travel and big events such as festivals often result in crowded settings where the virus can spread more easily, and there are no longer any legal restrictions like wearing masks or social distancing.
"The FLiRT variant has specific changes in its spike protein that might make it spread more easily and dodge immunity from past infections or vaccines.
Similarly, the LB.1 variant has mutations that help it spread and possibly weaken the protection we get from previous immunity, making these variants different from earlier versions of the virus.
"New variants come about because the virus naturally changes over time," added the GP. "When lots of people get infected, the virus has more chances to mutate. Also, our immune responses from past infections or vaccines can push the virus to evolve."
