How hard was it to pick a vacation destination last year? How hard will it be in 2021, especially if your aim is health tourism?
Greece is considered a fitting and safe destination which combines health, wellness and health treatment. It has been one of the competitive advantages pushed by our hospitality industry and rightly so.
The Right to Health is par excellence an individual and social right, which is enshrined both in international conventions, Gresuch as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 12) and in the Constitution of Greece (Article 21, paragraph 3). According to ICESCR, the State Parties recognize everyone’s right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including among others measures for the prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational, and other diseases. Moreover, the Constitution of Greece lays down that the State shall care for the health of citizens and will adopt special measures for the protection of youth, old age, disability and for the relief of the needy.
During the coronavirus pandemic, public health measures were necessary to be taken, as public health was endangered due to the pandemic; such provision is being also foreseen in the GDPR. Such measures justify the restriction of other rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of movement and personal freedom. However, in the case of pandemic – with due regard to the principle of proportionality – these restrictions are necessary to protect public health and to fight the pandemic.
Greece has fully complied with the above provisions, taking the necessary measures with aim to fight the coronavirus pandemic as well as respecting data subjects’ data protection rights in the best way. Taking into account the above, the public health of a country is protected as effectively as possible, patients feel secure and the country becomes safer.
Since the beginning of the pandemic and compared to other countries, Greece has obviously dealt with fewer cases of coronavirus and in combination with the rate of vaccinations, our country is a safe destination to spend your vacation.
So, the next time you will choose a medical tourism destination remember that Greece has taken all the necessary measures against coronavirus and you and your family will be in good hands!