ATHENS: Greece will drop most mask restrictions from June 1 to mid-September, a period coinciding with the height of its vital tourism season, the health minister said on Wednesday.
Thanos Plevris said masks will no longer be mandatory in most areas including on planes and intercity travel, though they will remain in force in hospitals, elderly care homes and city transport.
While the failure to wear a mask will no longer carry a fine, their use is still recommended, the minister said.
Education facilities and ferries will be subject to a later announcement, he said.
Plevris said last month that Greece was trying to "coexist" with Covid-19.
The government early this year began removing restrictions to boost tourism, which accounts for around a quarter of national income.
Mandatory screening tests for travellers who hold a European vaccination certificate were scrapped in February, before the tourism season launched in March.
Vaccine passes in restaurants, bars and shops have also been dropped. Over 29,000 people in Greece have died from causes attributed to the virus, with over 3.4 million cases recorded so far. Another 19 deaths were announced on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a former mayor of Bucharest was arrested on a European warrant in Athens late on Tuesday on corruption charges, Greek police said in a statement.
According to media reports, the detainee was Sorin Oprescu, the mayor of Bucharest between 2008 and 2015.
The person arrested "is a 71-year-old Romanian, former mayor of Bucharest, and he is accused of corruption, money laundering and forming a criminal group", a police statement said.
The case will be brought before the public prosecutor, police said. Oprescu's lawyer in Romania previously insisted his client had never wrongly asked for money from anybody "directly or indirectly". - AFP
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