Greece, a country highly dependent on tourism revenue, banned cruiseships and chartered yachts from docking at its ports, while suspending all passengership traffic with neighboring Italy.
Commercial cargo flows with Italy, the European country most affected by the coronavirus epidemic, are still allowed under the measures, which take effect immediately and until 15 April. They were announced after a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
They are part of a wider package of anti-coronavirus restrictions that saw Greece also suspend private citizens' car crossings to Albania and North Macedonia.
The Greek cruiseship ban, which also covers day cruises and chartered yachts, comes two days after the country’s major operator Celestyal Cruises said it was suspending activity until 1 May. Celestyal moved after the Greek government shut down archaeological monuments and museums through to 30 March.
The coronavirus measures may also thwart plans by Turkish operator Miray International to launch cruises later this year in the Aegean Sea.
Confirmed cases
Total: 142,539
China: 81,021
Italy: 17,660
Iran: 11,364
Republic of Korea: 8,086
Spain: 4,231
France: 3,640
Germany: 3,062
USA: 1,678
Confirmed deaths
Total: 5,393
China: 3,194
Italy: 1,268
Iran: 514
Spain: 120
France: 79
Republic of Korea: 72
USA: 41
A string of cruise companies, including the world’s four largest ones, have already suspended operations for a month in a concerted effort to get the quickly spreading virus under control.
Several ferry companies transport passengers between Greece and Italy across the Adriatic Sea, including the Grimaldi Group, ANEK Lines and Ventouris Ferries. The immediate impact on these companies may be limited as such business is usually low at this time of year. Greece has not imposed any travel ban on ferries shuttling between the mainland and the country’s islands.
The country has so far escaped relatively lightly from the Covid-19 outbreak, with four dead amid 331 confirmed cases as of 15 March.
Greece, however, is taking increasingly drastic measures to prevent the virus from spreading as it has in neighboring Italy, which is Europe’s hotbed for the disease with 1,268 deaths amid 17,660 confirmed cases, according to figures by the World Health Organization (WHO) for 14 March.
(This article has been updated since original publication to add the duration of the bans and updated figures on the spread of Covid-19 in Greece)
