Greece’s civil protection agency (GSCP) has temporarily suspended all flights from Qatar after 12 passengers tested positive for coronavirus.
The GSCP on June 2 announced the two-week moratorium after a Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad International) flight QR203 from Doha Hamad International to Athens on June 1 resulted in 12 positive cases. Nine of the positive passengers were Pakistani nationals, coming from the city of Gujrat, two Greek citizens coming from Australia, and one person of Japanese nationality.
A further 91 passengers were placed into quarantine by Greece’s health ministry. Those who test positive for the virus will remain there in quarantine hotels for 14 days while those who test negative will be kept for seven days when tests will be repeated.
“When they arrived in Doha, and before boarding the flight to Athens, all passengers were tested according to the procedures, and established health protocols, and were found fit to continue their journey,” Qatar Airways said in a statement to Greek newspaper Ekathimerini.
The GSCP said that due to the coronavirus cases, flights to and from Qatar would be suspended until June 15, when the official tourism season begins. Scheduled passenger flights will only be allowed into Athens and Thessaloniki, Agence France Presse reported, and only from countries that have a low number of coronavirus cases. Other Greek airports are due to open on July 1. Passengers from low-risk countries will be randomly tested for coronavirus, while those from high-risk countries will undergo compulsory testing.
