First case of coronavirus in Lesvos, fear on the island besieged by migrants

And so in fact, on the island of Lesbos, the “Greek Lampedusa” where more than twenty thousand migrants are hosted in extreme conditions in the refugee camp of Moria, it is alarm after coronavirus positivity found in a woman.

For now, the only finding capable of alleviating tensions is the fact that the patient in question has had no contact with the reception center. The woman, in particular, would have suffered the infection during a recent vacation between Egypt and Israel. A detail that for now is averting the worst as regards the “powder keg”Formed by the Moria camp, but which nevertheless alarmed the local health authorities.

The woman’s health conditions would seem good, as a precaution the patient was placed in solitary confinement at the hospital in Mytilene. On the island, efforts are being made to reconstruct the patient’s last movements, in order to trace any other infections and prevent the spread of the epidemic.

Even if there were no contacts between the infected woman and the refugee camp, in any case, a possible health emergency in Lesvos would also have deleterious effects in the management of the thousands of migrants here. Moreover, precisely on the island in the last few days there have been situations of strong tension after the announcement by Turkish President Erdogan of opening the borders for migrants, the latter circumstance that has increased the number of landings.

Some inhabitants blocked the pier, other groups of citizens prevented the workers employed in the construction of other reception centers from going to work. A situation therefore that is already at the limits of management, from the point of view of public order. The arrival of the coronavirus also on the island could trigger further problems that would complicate the picture also on the migratory front.

Meanwhile, in the rest of Greece there are 73 cases of Covid-19 officially reported, an increase compared to the last few days but still lower than the European average. Even in the Hellenic country, there is no lack of worries, given that the health system has been considerably weakened by the ax of the austerity measures of the past years. However, the utmost attention of the government of Athens remains always addressed to the management of migratory flows arriving from Turkey.

In the river area Evros, which marks the border with the Anatolian country, clashes have also been recorded in the last few hours between migrants trying to cross the border and members of the Greek police and security forces who are preventing the massive illegal flow of people from Turkey.