More than 4,500 tourists turned away in ferry checks

More than 4,500 local and foreign tourists have been stopped from boarding ferries to the Greek islands in the last week because they did not have the necessary Covid documents, according to Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis.

After a surge in coronavirus cases, the Greek coast guard was on July 13 brought in to check that tourists have the right paperwork, apparently because port authorities had been failing to do it properly.

“The checks by coast guard officials are strict and they are executed with speed and efficiency,” Plakiotakis told journalists during a visit to the Port of Piraeus on Friday.

“Regrettably more than 4,500 people were stopped from boarding ferries in the past week,” he said.