No coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed among refugees and asylum seekers on Greek islands, unlike in the mainland, but unsanitary conditions there raise even greater concern in light of the current threat, the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) spokesperson in the country told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2020) No coronavirus cases have so far been confirmed among refugees and asylum seekers on Greek islands, unlike in the mainland, but unsanitary conditions there raise even greater concern in light of the current threat, the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) spokesperson in the country told Sputnik in an interview.
As of Friday, Greece has recorded 2,490 cumulative coronavirus cases, including 130 deaths. Unlike in many countries in Europe, daily new cases in Greece rarely surpass two-digit numbers. On Tuesday, however, the country reported that 148 asylum seekers living in a migrant hotel in the southern town of Kranidi and two staff had tested positive for the virus.
"So far, cases of COVID-19 amongst refugees have been identified only in the Greek mainland. On the Greek Aegean islands there have been no COVID-19 cases reported among refugees and asylum seekers so far," Stella Nanou said.
Still, there are thousands of asylum seekers, including elderly, children, pregnant women and people with medical problems, among those living in reception centers on the islands of Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros.
They, Nanou noted, have been facing "crowded and dire conditions and high risks to their health" even before the pandemic.
"In such overcrowded settings (for example Moria reception centre on Lesvos, designed for less than 3,000, hosts some 18,000 people; the actual capacity on Samos has now been exceeded almost 11 times), one understands that even the most basic precautionary measures, such as physical distancing and handwashing in clean water, are difficult to implement," she warned.
Greece is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking to reach Europe. As of February, Greece has been home to 118,000 migrants and refugees who have arrived in the country since 2015-2016 influx, with 76,000 of them living in the mainland and 42,000 in overpopulated camps on the islands, according to the UNHCR estimate.
