MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th April, 2020) To effectively tackle the coronavirus pandemic, Greece needs to ensure that migrants and asylum seekers on its soil have access to health care, 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.
"In order to effectively combat any public health emergency, everyone - including refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants - should be able to access health facilities and services in a non-discriminatory manner. No one should be left behind, so that we can all remain protected," Stella Nanou said.
The national government, she added, should therefore ensure "the full inclusion of all refugees and asylum seekers on Greek territory in the national health surveillance, preparedness, and response plans."
Greece is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking to reach Europe. As of February, Greece was home to 118,000 migrants and refugees who 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.
