Migrants to be moved out of island camps in groups
The relocation of 2,380 asylum seekers from overcrowded reception centers on the Aegean islands to facilities on the mainland will be carried out “in strict observance of regulations for the protection of public health” amid the coronavirus pandemic, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis told state television on Friday.
More than 1,000 migrants had been scheduled to leave the Moria camp on Lesvos on Saturday but now they are expected to be moved out in small groups over the coming days.
The migrants will be transferred to hotels on the mainland and will remain in 14-day quarantine as a precaution, Mitarakis said.
Some 5,800 migrants are currently residing in 55 hotels across the country, Mitarakis noted, adding that a subsidized hotel program for migrants will end this year.
Separately, Switzerland has agreed to take in 22 unaccompanied migrant children from Greece.
