Greece: Tourists cause concern, virus cases rise

By Rabia Iclal Turan

ANKARA (AA) - Greece registered 27 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with 14 of them travelers tested at entry points, local media outlets reported.

Greek health authorities are concerned as several infections have been reported among the tourists entering the country.

According to local media, 14 cases were detected at the entry points of the country.

More than half of the confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Greece from July 1 were imported, the reports added.

Four foreign tourists, reportedly arrived from Serbia and Bulgaria, have tested positive for the disease on the northern Aegean island of Thassos during the checks at the country’s entry points.

The tourists were quarantined in a nearby hotel.

Meanwhile, another patient, reportedly traveled from the UK via Serbia, was reported on the Cycladic island of Naxos.

A total of 180 people were confirmed to have contracted the virus in Greece from July 1 until Tuesday, according to the website Worldometer.

Total number of coronavirus cases reached 3,589, with 193 fatalities since it first appeared in the country.

Greece has temporarily closed its borders to Serbian citizens on Monday morning in response to the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases in Balkan countries. Serbia is on the list of 15 countries that the EU agreed to reopen its external borders on July 1.

More than 11.85 million COVID-19 cases have been reported around the world, with fatalities over 544,700, and recoveries exceeding 6.46 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.