In the midst of a pandemic, Italy tries to cope with an increase in migrant arrivals

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2 min

Migrant arrivals to the country have increased by almost 150% since the start of the year compared to the same period in 2019. 

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With our correspondent in Rome, Anne Le Nir

Nearly 150% more arrivals, this corresponds to 21,618 people since the start of the year against 8,691 in 2019, when the former Minister of the Interior Matteo Salvini had closed all the ports .

And if the country is still far from the figures of 2016 and 2017 , years during which more than 182,000 migrants had disembarked in Italy, the situation is no less delicate, in particular as regards the reception of these exiles, as the Italian Minister of the Interior, Luciana Larmorgese recognized this.

A situation complicated by the Covid-19

A good part of the people who disembark autonomously in the south of the country come from Tunisia . They are considered to be economic migrants without the right to asylum.

In addition, due to the coronavirus, the management of the reception is even more complex. Two ferries have been hired by the state to quarantine migrants who test positive.

But this is not enough to ensure the protection of the populations of the host municipalities and that of the migrants themselves. The government has therefore mobilized the army to secure the reception centers and is looking for solutions to ease tensions . This is the reason why the Minister of the Interior, the Head of Diplomacy, Luigi di Maio, and two European Commissioners will visit Tunis on Monday.

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• Italy
• Tunisia
• Immigration

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