Greeks flocked to the streets dancing in a festive mood on Sunday while most of Europe has reimposed fresh restrictions amid a new surge of Omicron COVID cases.

The footage filmed on December 19 shows celebrations in sunny weather in Thessaloniki. Crowds of people visit shops, cafes and restaurants, and dance to street musicians as the city buzzes with life.

Greeks flock to the streets dancing in a festive mood while most of Europe reimpose restrictions amid Omicron cases surge. Spontaneous feasts during Sunday (19/12) sunny weather in Thessaloniki Greece. Crowds of people flocked to commercial stores, cafeterias, and restaurants, the center of the Greek city was buzzing with life and the images of a past-pandemic vitality that was lost for almost 2 years due to restrictions for COVID. Live bands playing traditional Greek music motivated dozens of passers-by to hold hands and dance altogether, as locals did before the pandemic in anticipation of Christmas. All these while the new Omicron variant spreading at lightning speed all over Europe and Greece requires from today (19/12) all visitors traveling to the country, including those from fellow European Union countries, to present a PCR test taken within 72 hours or a rapid test within 24 hours before of the arrival.