Médecins Sans Frontières relief organization is concerned that the corona virus will spread in Greek refugee camps. On Sunday it turned out that a resident of the Greek island of Lesbos, where several refugee camps are located, was infected with the COVID-19 virus.
MSF is particularly concerned about the Moria refugee camp. More than twenty thousand migrants currently live here.
Because there is actually room for three thousand people in Moria, there is a great lack of sanitary facilities and limited medical care. “All viruses and bacteria feel at home in such an environment,” says doctor Marit van Lenthe of the aid organization. “If we don’t offer those people decent living and living conditions, things will go wrong.”
According to MSF-Holland, it is impossible to contain the corona virus in a refugee camp like Moria and there is no emergency plan in place. Therefore, the organization calls on the authorities to immediately close Moria and to take measures as soon as possible, such as infection prevention and health education.
Last week, MSF decided to stop operating on the Greek island of Lesbos because the situations for aid workers are not safe there. Médecins Sans Frontières staff have been intimidated because a number of islanders are upset about the Greek government’s plan to build new refugee camps.
EU offers refugees 2,000 euros to leave Lesbos
On Thursday, the European Union announced that it would offer refugees in the Greek islands a compensation of EUR 2,000 if they voluntarily leave for their home country. In this way, the EU aims to improve “totally unacceptable” living conditions in the camps.
The scheme is intended for migrants who landed on a Greek island off the Turkish coast before 1 January 2020. These are mainly migrants in Samos, Lesbos and Chios.
EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson (Migration) said on Thursday that the decision was taken in consultation with the Greek government. Migrants who want to receive the compensation must report within a month.
Follow the latest developments around the virus in our live blog.
The coronavirus in short
- The virus mainly spreads through cough and sneeze droplets that hang briefly in the air.
- An infected person infects two to three others on average. This number may decrease with proper precautions.
- The vast majority of patients have mild (flu-like) complaints.
- Almost all deaths concern older or already sick people. You can protect these people with precautions.
- Read here what the most important precautions are.
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