Authorities on the island planned to move an organization of some 395 migrants deemed vulnerable to the mainland via a boat, a police officer, who refused to give his name, told Reuters. A Ministry of Migration official said the goal is to finally move some 2,400 island camps to mainland Greece.
This comes after the European Union asked Greece to move the maximum number of migrants to contract COVID-19 from overcrowded camps on its islands in the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.
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ITALY, SPAIN AND FRANCE FACILITATE CLOSURES AFTER HOT SPOTS IN EUROPE SEE CASES OF CORONAVIRUS REGISTRATION
Athens had resisted the transfer of migrants to the mainland, arguing that no cases of coronavirus had been documented in camps on the Greek islands, while the new virus spread to other parts of the country, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, human rights groups have warned that the infection could spread rapidly, already devastating the capacity of overcrowded camps in the event of an outbreak.
The prominent Moria de Lesbos camp, built to house fewer than 3,000 people, is home to more than 18,000 migrants and is a matter of controversy even before Greece knew its first case of coronavirus in late February, The Guardian reported.
As the epidemic worsened, Greece entered a lockout on 23 March, forcing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) operating in migrant camps to halt operations and shut down centres. At least another 110,000 people live in migrant centres in Greece, of which some 40,000 remain in migrant camps on five separate Greek islands, Reuters reported.
GREEK ISLANDS SEE MORE PROTESTS AGAINST NEW IMMIGRATION DETENTION CENTERS, OFFICIALS INJURED BY VIOLENCE
Greece recorded at least 2,626 cases among its non-migrant population on Monday, with at least 146 deaths. The country has not been as affected as other European hotspots in Italy, Spain and France, which have been the highest hit by infections and deaths in the world.
The protests erupted in Lesbos and Crios in early February, although everything proved violent on the fourth day in a row, with crowds attacking police deployed from the mainland to protect the sites of structures for new migrant centers on the islands.
After years on the front line of the refugee crisis, the other people in Lesbos and Chios opposed the government’s structure of new migrant detention centres on their islands and instead sought asylum seekers to be resettled on the continent while they were being prosecuted or awaiting deportation.
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The Aegean islands had noticed a resurgence in the influx of migrants in months, comparable to the heights observed in 2016 at the height of the Syrian civil war. More than one million migrants arrived on the Greek islands from Turkey in 2015 and 2016, Reuters reported.
While Russian-backed regime forces continued their offensive opposed to Syrian teams in Idlib, Greek islanders expected more refugees smuggled out of Turkey to succeed on their shores.