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Greece suspends Qatar flights till mid-June after 12 test positive

Airplanes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport in Roissy-en-France

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece on Tuesday suspended flights to and from Qatar after 12 individuals on a plane from Doha tested positive for the new coronavirus.

The individuals were on a flight carrying 91 people from Doha to Athens that landed on Monday. Tests were carried out for the novel coronavirus and the passengers were taken to a quarantine hotel, authorities said.

Those who tested positive will be in quarantine for 14 days, and those who tested negative will remain in quarantine for seven days, the civil protection ministry said.

Those who tested positive include nine people from Pakistan with Greek residency papers, two Greeks travelling from Australia and a member of a Greek-Japanese family. The suspension will be in place until June 15.

Greece has reported a low number of COVID-19 cases compared to many other European countries, and began a gradual easing of a weeks-long lockdown on May 4. By Tuesday, it had reported 2,937 cases, and 179 deaths.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Kevin Liffey)