Greece restarted regular ferry (轮渡) services to its islands, and cafés and restaurants were also back open for business to rescue its tourism .
Travel to the islands had been generally off-limitssince a lockdown was carried out in late March to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with only goods suppliers and locals allowed to enter. But the country's low infection rate (感染率) in the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the government to start the holiday season three weeks earlier than the expected June 15 date.
At Bairaktaris restaurant on central Monastiraki Square in Athens, waiters and other workers wearing face masks, prepared various dishes, arranged flowers on tables and waited for customers, who remained cautious. Spiros Bairaktaris, the owner, is carrying on a family business running for 140 years and has hung pictures on the wall of himself sitting next to supermodel Naomi Campbell, singer Cesaria Evora, and other famous customers.
Greece has had nearly 2,900 infections and 171 deaths from the virus. Italy has seen nearly 33,000 coronavirus patients die, Spain has had nearly 29,000 deaths and Turkey 4,340, according to a record by Johns Hopkins University.
Social distancing rules and passenger limits have been introduced on ferries and at restaurants to prevent new infections. State-run health services to fight the coronavirus are being provided to the islands.
Tourism is a vital part of the Greek economy, directly contributing more than 10% of the country's GDP. More than 34 million visitors traveled to Greece last year, spending 18.2 billion euros ($19.5 billion), according to government data.
