“This summer I will not go to Chios. The feeling of emptiness is overwhelming. I am thinking of the kids who have to stay in the migrant centers without the few hours of normalcy we could offer them.”

“Hey brother! Have you heard? Hagia Sophia is a mosque! No, I didn’t get a raise, my son didn’t get a job and I’m still trying to pay for the house, but Hagia Sophia has become a mosque!” 

Loggerhead turtles returning to their nesting sites along the Bay of Laganas on the Ionian island of Zakynthos are experiencing a rare period of calm this post-Covid summer in an area that is usually heavily impacted by tourism at the peak of their egg-laying season.

The widespread use of face masks, avoiding large groups and social distancing are the best ways to keep infection rates low in Greece, three Athens Medical School health experts told Kathimerini, as Greek authorities fear that compliance with safety rules is waning.

The government’s plan to contain the coronavirus to the greatest possible extent while keeping alive the country’s crucial tourism season foresees a gradual lifting of bans on flights from certain higher-risk countries alongside new measures to avert the spread of the virus, such as a ban on summer festivals.

As health authorities focus on containing a localized spike of Covid-19 in the northern Greek region of Xanthi, concerns have arisen over an apparent case of reinfection on Crete.