Amb l’esperança d’atraure turistes, Grècia torna a obrir platges després del tancament

With widely spaced sun loungers and regular disinfections, Greece reopened its organised beaches on Saturday as the popular Mediterranean holiday destination eases COVID-19 curbs in preparation for the return of foreign visitors this week.

Tourism accounts for about a fifth of Greece's economy and jobs, and - after the worst year on record for the industry last year - the country can ill afford another lost summer. Llegeix més

"We're pinning our hopes on tourism," said Nikos Venieris, who manages a sandy beach in the seafront suburb of Alimos, just outside the capital, Athens, where social distancing measures will remain in place.

"We're one of the places along the Athens riviera ... that receives many tourists so the number of visitors from abroad will play a big role in our finances," he added.

Under current measures, beach managers like Venieris will have to place umbrellas at least four metres (13 feet), carry out regular disinfections and test beach bar employees and other staff for COVID-19.

A Grècia li va sortir bé en mantenir la primera onada de la pandèmia sota control l'any passat, però el ressorgiment dels casos va empènyer els serveis sanitaris al límit i va impulsar les autoritats a imposar un segon bloqueig al novembre.

A mesura que les infeccions han caigut i les vacunes han augmentat el ritme, les autoritats han suavitzat constantment les restriccions, obrint bars i restaurants a principis d'aquesta setmana.

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On Friday, they announced that museums would reopen next week before the lifting of travel restrictions on vaccinated foreign visitors on May 15.

El primer ministre grec Kyriakos Mitsotakis ha dit que una combinació de proves generalitzades, immunització i el fet que moltes activitats tinguessin lloc a l'aire lliure van donar a les autoritats confiança que els turistes podrien visitar-los amb seguretat.

For Greek beach lovers, Saturday's reopening of the country's largest beaches was a chance to let off steam after months of lockdown.

"We've been longing for this for six months now, because we're winter swimmers and we've really missed it," said Spiros Linardos, a pensioner, reclining on a sun lounger at Alimos.

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