Greek Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said on Thursday he strongly recommends travelers take a self-test before returning from their holidays on the islands or the mainland but did not impose additional requirements for testing, as recommended by the experts advising the government on the pandemic.

“For land travel there is no obligatory measure. There is a strong recommendation to do self-tests,” Hardalias said at a regular press briefing on the coronavirus.

The existing rules dictate that people traveling between regions or to the islands need to display one of the following documents: a Covid-19 vaccination certificate, proof of recent recovery from the virus, a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of departure or a negative rapid test conducted 42 hours before traveling.

Travelers who are 12 or older are advised to take a self-test before their return trip.

The committee of experts recommended additional tests for travelers and unvaccinated employees in all forms of transport, following a spike in new infections in Greece in recent days.

It also proposed making rapid tests compulsory for unvaccinated employees working in ferries, airlines and public land transport.

This article was previously published at ekathimerini.com.