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The Karatepe camp on the island of Lesbos is a “window” center. [Piotr Maciej Kaczyski]
Greece has been lucky: 17 migrants, all from Somalia, are safe at Kara Tepe camp on the island of Lesbos, a window center on the island. But in The overcrowded Moria camp on the same island, the coronavirus can cause a real tragedy.
On 6 August, a ship with 38 other people on board arrived on the coast of Lesbos in Agios Isidoros. Since the coronavirus outbreak, all new migrants arriving on the Greek islands have been quarantined and screened for the virus. On August 10, the effects came for the newcomers. 17 of them, all from Somalia, tested positive, and correspondent George Katsouris, spokesman for the press centre in the island’s capital, Mytilene. All other inflamed people are remote in Kara Tepe camp.
Michael Batzakis is the director of Camp Kara Tepe. He says there’s another 1,011 people in the camp lately. In this component of the island, a boat arrives every 5-6 days from the beginning of June. The last instances of Covid-19 were here in June, brought through other people from mainland Greece, not immigrants. The new cases are the first cases of coronavirus in migrant camps on the Greek islands.
The 17 Somali immigrants are absolutely isolated, Batzakis said. Other infected people are protected by the government to make sure no one comes near them or leave their neighborhoods. Meals and sanitary appliances are provided through masks, gloves and protective clothing.
“We need to make sure those other people stay healthy within the quarantine zone,” Batzakis says. For this, other people are tested weekly. If other inflamed people are positive for Covid in a week, they will spend more time in quarantine. If the uninflamed lose the virus next week, they will be free to register at the registration point for newcomers to the Moria camp, five kilometres from the road inland.
Health coverage is provided on a foundation. In case of emergency, there is a hospital equipped with fans, Batzakis said.
There are about 40,000 migrants on the Greek islands applying for refugee status. Most of them live in incredibly delicate situations where regulations such as social estrangement are not applied. In Moria’s camp, there are about 15,000 people lately. If the virus reaches this field, there is a real threat of tragedy, says Sonia Nandzik of the local NGO ReFOCUS Media Labs.
“Tragedy is the result of the no option of self-isolation in Moria. There are no situations that ensure hygiene or social estrangement situations. The tragedy is even more likely because of the recent closure of Doctors Without Borders. hospital in the camp, ” said Nandzik.
When asked to comment, the Commission said that it was aware of the express case and largely followed progress on the islands. According to the Commission’s information, another 18 asymptomatic persons (no 17) tested positive for quarantined coronavirus at the Karatepe centre in Lesbos.
The EU executive said he had supported the Greek government in implementing its emergency plan to prevent the virus from reaching reception centres. The government reportedly took the maximum measures at risk and 3,000, namely other vulnerable people who are being displaced from the centres to other homes, is known.
In addition, progress has been made in relocations: to date, more than 300 more people have relocated to 6 Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Finland). More movements are planned in the coming weeks.
The Commission recognises that the pandemic is exacerbating the vulnerabilities of migrants and refugees living in reception centres, because physical distance is more difficult. The EU executive has published Steerage on migration and pandemic management, and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has published Steerage on infection prevention and coronavirus control in EU detention and reception centres for migrants and refugees.
The Commission did not criticise Greece for its handling of the refugee crisis, but told Member States to ensure access to physical care and shelter good enough to prevent further transmission of the virus.
“Quarantine and isolation measures shall be implemented in a reasonable, proportionate and non-discriminatory manner. We have provided significant monetary and operational funds to Member States, adding Greece to fight coronavirus, and we are able to provide more if necessary,” a spokesman told EURACTIV.
Piotr Maciej Kaczynski contributed to this article from Lesbos. This publication is supported by the Stars4Media pilot project.
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