ATHENS — "The first weeks are crucial for the tourist flows," State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Monday in an interview with Alpha 989 radio station adding that tourists in Greece and abroad still hold a wait-and-see stance.

Regarding tourists coming from countries with a high epidemiological burden and a transit in Europe, he said that an electronic system has been set up so that anyone who comes from a country in "red" will be subject to scrutiny regardless of whether the flight is direct or not. Therefore, he urged citizens to "feel safe."

He added: "What we are interested in is where passengers have been in the last 15 days. We will control either entire flights or individual flight passengers."

On talks between Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he stressed: "For us, the policy of open channels communication is a matter of principle."

Reffering to the possibility of a government reshuffle, he said that the time must be neutral and as of July it will be neutral.