Covid-19: HRW calls for congestion relief on Greek island refugee camps

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The NGO Human Rights Watch fears "a public health crisis" in the overcrowded migrant camps located on the islands of the Aegean Sea.

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“  As the Greek government works to stop the spread of the virus, images of the squalid conditions in the reception and registration camps in Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros show that the minimum standards of protection against Covid- 19 are not respected,  ”deplored Belkis Wille, crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch (HRW), quoted in a press release.

Distancing measures impossible to apply

So far, no cases of coronavirus have been detected in these camps, according to Greek authorities, while two camps in mainland Greece were quarantined in April after asylum seekers tested positive there. .

Nearly 35,000 people live in these camps, six times more than their capacity. In these conditions, "  washing your hands or applying social distancing is impossible  ".

HRW calls on the Greek authorities to "  quickly identify  " vulnerable people in the camps, especially "  the elderly, those suffering from chronic diseases or other endangered groups such as unaccompanied children, the disabled and pregnant women  " and to "  take steps to protect them from Covid-19 to avoid a public health crisis  ".

Quarantine imposed in a village

Less affected than other European countries, Greece officially has 121 deaths from the coronavirus and 2,401 cases. General confinement has been imposed since March 22, five days after the confinement of migrant camps across the country.

Authorities on Tuesday quarantined the village of Kranidi, 166 kilometers southwest of Athens, for two weeks after 148 of the 470 migrants staying at a nearby hotel tested positive. A 28-year-old Somali migrant, pregnant and tested in the context of pregnancy examinations, was diagnosed positive. Two hotel employees were also tested positive.

Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi said Tuesday that 5.3% of migrants living in camps on the islands have been transferred to mainland Greece since January and that these transfers will continue.

( with AFP )

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• Greece
• Refugees
• Coronavirus
• International Migration

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