Covid antibodies last eight months after infection Europe woos tourists

From France to Greece, Europe’s top tourist destinations are gearing up to welcome visitors back this summer after the coronavirus pandemic wrecked last year’s season.

The European Commission is working on a "Digital Green Pass" that would provide proof of vaccination and Covid test results, with the aim of making travel easier for people in the European Union and abroad.

The pass may be available from June, but countries are already getting ready for tourists. Here is a look at the latest situation. France was the world’s top tourist destination before the pandemic in 2019 with 90 million visitors. The government launched a multi-million-euro campaign on Tuesday to woo tourists.

Restrictions are gradually being lifted, with France’s famous cafe terraces set to reopen on May 19 along with shops, museums and theatres. Indoor spaces in restaurants and cafes will be allowed to reopen on June 9 with a near total return to normal by the end of the month.

But new restrictions could be imposed if cases exceed 400 infections per 100,000 inhabitants. Athens last month lifted a seven-day quarantine period for travellers from the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. It reopened outdoor cafes and restaurants before France, on May 3.

Now it is hoping to make its idyllic islands Covid-free by giving them priority in the vaccination campaign, giving jabs to their entire adult population earlier than the rest of Greece. Private beaches reopened Saturday and museums will follow suit on May 14. Outdoor cinemas will do so from May 21 although with reduced capacity and theatres will do the same from May 28.

Cruise ships and passengers will also be welcome at Greek ports, a boon as tourism is worth a 20 percent slice of Greece’s GDP, according to the World Trade and Tourism Council (WTTC). Spain was the second top tourist destination in the world after France in 2019, with 83.5 million visitors. Visits crumbled by 77 percent last year.

Tourism represents 14.1 percent of Spain’s economic activity. Madrid has been a relative refuge for European tourists as bars, museums, restaurants and theatres have been left open since last June. Visitors only need to show a negative virus test over the previous 72 hours.

As of last Sunday, Spaniards can travel outside their region and the country’s curfew has been lifted save for the Balearic Islands and Valencia region pending a judicial green light. Italy plans to introduce its own Covid pass later this month ahead of the EU which will allow travel to every region of the country.

The certificate will be given to people who can show they were vaccinated or previously had Covid-19, or tested negative for the coronavirus. The document will be available to people outside the EU, said Tourism Minister Massimo Garavaglia.

"The US and Britain represent 30 percent of foreign arrivals in Italy. They are tourists who spend a lot," he said. Cruises have resumed in Italian ports while bars and restaurants can serve people outside again.

Italy welcomed 64.5 million foreign visitors in 2019, according to the World Tourism Organisation. The Mediterranean island of Malta, which received 2.8 million tourists in 2019, is to offer the first 38,000 visitors 200 euros ($243) towards a minimum three-night hotel stay.

Antibodies against coronavirus remained in the blood of patients with Covid-19 for at least eight months after they were infected, Italian researchers said on Tuesday. They were present "regardless of the severity of the illness, the age of the patients or the presence of other pathologies," according to a statement from the San Raffaele hospital in Milan.

The researchers, working with Italy’s ISS national health institute, studied 162 patients with symptomatic coronavirus who turned up at the emergency room during the country’s first wave of infections last year. Blood samples were taken in March and April and again at the end of November from those who survived. Some 29 patients died.