Chinese tourists from Wuhan arrive at Athens Airport

A group of Chinese tourists from Wuhan, where the Coronavirus broke out, arrived in Athens via Italy on Sunday afternoon to depart for their holiday to Santorini.

There was an alert at Athens International Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, after information that 15 Chinese nationals arrived from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, with seven of them from the town of Wuhan, which is where the deadly Coronavirus broke out.

According to reports from Greece’s publication Protothema, the tourists departed their city four days ago and via Italy arrived at Athens in the morning, before departing for Santorini in the afternoon.

“I was informed about the arrivals and it is our duty and obligation to intervene in order to deal with these kinds of public health issues,” Airport Officer and South-East Attica’s police officer Giorgos Kalliamkanis told Protothema.

More than 50 people have died, all in China, as the Wuhan coronavirus continues to spread throughout Asia and the rest of the world. Over 2,000 cases have been confirmed in mainland China.

More than 40 confirmed cases have been identified in 13 places outside mainland China. And nearly 60 million people have been affected by Beijing’s attempts to either partially or fully lockdown affected cities.

People can spread the virus before symptoms show, China’s health minister said Sunday, which would make it harder to contain.

Greece’s Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias reiterated on Sunday that all the necessary protection measures to address the coronavirus that appeared in China have been taken in Greece, in an interview with Open TV.

“If necessary, the National Public Health Organisation is ready to use thermal cameras at the Greek airports as well as portable pistol thermometres.

However, he admitted that there is no magical way to prevent the virus from reaching a country but there are preventive measures and the right information.