Greece to reopen beaches, museums after long lockdown

Greece will reopen private beaches on Saturday and museums next week, health officials said Friday as the tourism-dependent country gears up for a May 15 travel restart.

Museums are to reopen on May 14 -- a day before Greece officially launches its travel season -- followed by reduced-capacity outdoor cinemas on May 21 and theatres on May 28.

The government began in early April to relax lockdown restrictions originally imposed in November by reopening most retail shops except malls.

This was followed by high schools reopening a week later, and by outdoor restaurants and cafes on May 3.

However, tourism operators do not expect major travel arrivals before July.

Last month quarantine restrictions were lifted for vaccinated or tested travellers from the EU and a small number of other countries including Britain and the United States.

The third wave of the pandemic hit Greece hard with the majority of the country's more than 10,000 virus deaths occurring over the last few months.

The country has recorded over 350,000 cases of coronavirus in a population of 10.8 million.

Over 3.4 million vaccinations have been carried out, and over a million people have received their second dose.