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Greece in talks with UK about vaccine certificates

The government of Greece is in talks with UK officials to see if vaccination certificates could be used to enable holidaymakers travel without the need for Covid-19 tests.

Greek tourism minister Harry Theoharis told BBC Radio 4 Today: “We are in very preliminary discussions…I’m very hopeful we can reach some sort of solution.”

He said he hopes for a “semi-normal summer” this year and that a “vaccine passport” scheme could facilitate travel between Britain and Greece.

Nearly four million people from Britain visit Greece in a normal year but the costs of Covid tests for travellers is expected to deter many holidaymakers this summer.


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Theoharis also said that digital vaccine certificates have three layers of security and were harder to forge than PCR test result documents.

Greece has already agreed a trial run with Israel to allow vaccinated people to travel freely between the two countries once international flights resume.

The UK government has ruled out the use of vaccine passports domestically but accepts that Brits travelling overseas may well need proof of vaccination to enter some other countries when leisure travel resumes.

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