THE GOVERNMENT HAS said that Greece remains on the green list, despite the country entering a ‘second wave’ of Covid-19.

The country has been a recent spike in cases of the virus, with 203 new cases reported on Sunday. 

Another 126 infections were announced yesterday. 

The government here said that there would be no immediate change to the green list, which sets out the countries and territories people can travel from into Ireland without restricting their movements for 14 days. 

A spokesperson from the Department of the Taoiseach said that the “list of overseas destinations with ‘normal precautions’ advice is kept under constant review”.

“We continue to advise people that the safest thing they can do, in terms of their own health and the health of the country, is to stay in Ireland,” they said. 

Officials in Greece have blamed the increase in cases on overcrowding in clubs and social events. The civil protection agency last week made masks compulsory in all indoor public areas.

The country had initially handled the first outbreak of Covid-19 well, but the rise in case numbers has prompted Greek officials to warn that transmission of the virus is growing to dangerous levels. 

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Gkikas Magiorkinis, assistant professor of hygiene and epidemiology at Athens university, told the Guardian yesterday that “Greece has formally entered a second wave of the epidemic. This is the point that we could win or lose the battle”. 

Earlier this month, Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, San Marino and Monaco were all dropped from the green list following a rise in Covid-19 cases.