Published : 06-11-2020
Palestinian refugees and other asylum seekers taking shelter in migrant facilities set up on Greek islands have voiced deep concern over their abject humanitarian condition as Greece ordered a nationwide lockdown on Thursday for three weeks to help contain a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, its second this year after a sharp increase in infections this week.
“I’ve chosen to take drastic measures sooner rather than later,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Although having previously said a nationwide lockdown was a last option, Mitsotakis said he was forced to act after a spike in cases in the past five days, saying that without a lockdown the pressure on the healthcare system would be “unbearable.”
Under the new countrywide restrictions to take effect from Saturday, retail businesses will be shut with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies. Greeks will need a permit to venture outdoors at allocated times. Primary schools will stay open, but high schools will shut.
The country has reported fewer cases than most in Europe, mainly due to an early nationwide lockdown it imposed when the pandemic broke out in February. It started unwinding those restrictions in May.
According to the UNHCR, the total number of asylum seekers in Greece is approximately 120,000.
Greece is a gateway for refugees and asylum seekers fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, with more than one million having passed through the country in 2015 and 2016.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees and other migrants are stuck in overcrowded refugee camps in conditions aid organizations say are appalling and which the government itself has described as a “ticking health bomb”.
Palestinian refugees and other asylum seekers taking shelter in migrant facilities set up on Greek islands have voiced deep concern over their abject humanitarian condition as Greece ordered a nationwide lockdown on Thursday for three weeks to help contain a resurgence of Covid-19 cases, its second this year after a sharp increase in infections this week.
“I’ve chosen to take drastic measures sooner rather than later,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
Although having previously said a nationwide lockdown was a last option, Mitsotakis said he was forced to act after a spike in cases in the past five days, saying that without a lockdown the pressure on the healthcare system would be “unbearable.”
Under the new countrywide restrictions to take effect from Saturday, retail businesses will be shut with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies. Greeks will need a permit to venture outdoors at allocated times. Primary schools will stay open, but high schools will shut.
The country has reported fewer cases than most in Europe, mainly due to an early nationwide lockdown it imposed when the pandemic broke out in February. It started unwinding those restrictions in May.
According to the UNHCR, the total number of asylum seekers in Greece is approximately 120,000.
Greece is a gateway for refugees and asylum seekers fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, with more than one million having passed through the country in 2015 and 2016.
Thousands of Palestinian refugees and other migrants are stuck in overcrowded refugee camps in conditions aid organizations say are appalling and which the government itself has described as a “ticking health bomb”.
