Greece quarantine: Sturgeon shamed over 'harsh' coronavirus measures threatening tourism
THE Greece quarantine was a "harsh" move from Nicola Sturgeon and fellow First Minister Mark Drakeford, Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis noted
Quarantine: Greek minister hits out at 'harsh' restrictions by UK
Greece was re-added to the quarantine lists of both Scotland and Wales after a surge of coronavirus cases was reported in some areas of the Mediterranean country. Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford announced on Tuesday new restrictions on holidaymakers returning from Greece. Wales earlier this week announced a new cluster of COVID-19 cases connected to a flight returning from the Greek island of Zante, and all passengers were forced to quarantine.
But Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis branded the decision to reimpose a shielding period as "harsh".
Mr Theoharis noted the Greek Government had taken the necessary precautions to keep the spread of the virus under control, noting the country is "well-below" the marker of cases the UK Government has been using to decide which countries to re-add to the quarantine list.
He also pointed out Greece has been using a "targeted" approach to monitor the situation, saying the country is fifth in the world when it comes to conducting coronavirus tests.
He said: "Every country has a right to impose the restrictions they feel are necessary to protect their own citizens. From that point of view, we understand it.
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"From our point of view, we see that the threshold the UK has, 20 cases per 100,000, we're well below that.
"We have put in place a comprehensive set of protocols and measures, AI systems at the borders to target the testing.
"We take targeted measures where we see a concentration. We're the fifth country in the number of tests we conduct in Europe.
"So we feel we're taking every possible precaution. Having a health system that shows no signs of problems, all the numbers are in a very, very good shape.
"We feel this is a bit harsh."
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Greece added to Scotland's quarantine list amid spike in cases
Gregor Smith, Scotland's chief medical officer, warned there is a "compelling" risk of importing new cases of coronavirus after a surge of patients linked to travel to Greece.
Dr Smith said: "There is a compelling public health risk around importation of the virus, especially given the number of imported cases linked to the Greek islands.
“The flow of travel between Scotland and Greece, and the behaviour we have seen from some of those travellers, means that on public health grounds there is a strong case – supported by public health directors – to remove Greece from the exemption list.”
Meanwhile Wales warned all passengers travelling from Zante to Cardiff would have to self-isolate for 14 days upon their return.
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Welsh Minister of Health Vaughan Gething said the measures had been agreed over concern of "insufficient" checks on tourists returning to Wales.
Mr Gething said: "There are concerns from our public health teams that the current advice and control measures for returning travellers are insufficient.
Unfortunately our Consultants in Communicable Disease Control have several examples of Covid-19 positive travellers who have not self-isolated on return to Wales.
"That is a real concern for all of us."