Published : 04-04-2020
Greece has quarantined a refugee camp in the mainland, home to 2,300 people, for at least two weeks after 20 residents tested positive for COVID-19.
Greece's Ministry of Migration announced on Thursday that movement from the Ritsona camp will be heavily restricted and monitored by police. All of those who tested positive showed no symptoms, the ministry said.
An AGPS reporter said a 14-day quarantine has been imposed on the camp, where some 2,500 persons have been taking shelter, including 250 Palestinian refugees from Syria.
The measures came as authorities tested dozens of people in the camp after a woman, who had been living there, was found to have the infection as she gave birth in a nearby hospital last week - the first recorded case of a refugee contracting COVID-19.
Health officials are currently investigating the source of the infection, and are testing more camp residents to establish how many have the virus.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), one of the official actors in Ritsona which will continue to have a presence during the quarantine, was attempting to protect the site located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of the capital, Athens, from a more serious outbreak.
There would be a heightened police presence around the camp to ensure the lockdown measures were adhered to.
The cases come amid growing calls from NGOs, doctors and academics for the European Union to evacuate refugee camps during the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of migrants, including Palestinians, live in packed and squalid camps in Greece, and are therefore at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to crowded conditions and poor hygiene and sanitation.
There are growing fears that an uncontrolled spread in camp contexts, such as those on the Greek islands, may lead to a public health disaster as measures of social distancing and quarantine are almost impossible in these settings.
As of Wednesday evening, Greece had 1,415 confirmed cases of the virus and a total of 50 deaths.
Greece has quarantined a refugee camp in the mainland, home to 2,300 people, for at least two weeks after 20 residents tested positive for COVID-19.
Greece's Ministry of Migration announced on Thursday that movement from the Ritsona camp will be heavily restricted and monitored by police. All of those who tested positive showed no symptoms, the ministry said.
An AGPS reporter said a 14-day quarantine has been imposed on the camp, where some 2,500 persons have been taking shelter, including 250 Palestinian refugees from Syria.
The measures came as authorities tested dozens of people in the camp after a woman, who had been living there, was found to have the infection as she gave birth in a nearby hospital last week - the first recorded case of a refugee contracting COVID-19.
Health officials are currently investigating the source of the infection, and are testing more camp residents to establish how many have the virus.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), one of the official actors in Ritsona which will continue to have a presence during the quarantine, was attempting to protect the site located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) north of the capital, Athens, from a more serious outbreak.
There would be a heightened police presence around the camp to ensure the lockdown measures were adhered to.
The cases come amid growing calls from NGOs, doctors and academics for the European Union to evacuate refugee camps during the coronavirus pandemic.
Thousands of migrants, including Palestinians, live in packed and squalid camps in Greece, and are therefore at high risk of acquiring infectious diseases due to crowded conditions and poor hygiene and sanitation.
There are growing fears that an uncontrolled spread in camp contexts, such as those on the Greek islands, may lead to a public health disaster as measures of social distancing and quarantine are almost impossible in these settings.
As of Wednesday evening, Greece had 1,415 confirmed cases of the virus and a total of 50 deaths.
