Greece to restrict migrant camp movements in virus measure

Greece on Tuesday said it was placing migrant camps nationwide on a two-week shutdown to visitors to ward off the new coronavirus.

“Visits (to camps) by individuals and organisations are suspended for at least 14 days,” the migration ministry said in a statement.

“Entry will be allowed only to staff and there will be a compulsory temperature check for new arrivals,” it said, adding that residents would be encouraged to limit their movements in and out of the camps.

Greece has progressively tightened restrictions on trade and public gatherings as the national death toll from the virus rose to four at the weekend.

There are tens of thousands of asylum-seekers in camps on the Greek mainland and islands near Turkey, nearly all of them badly overcrowded and overfilling.

The ministry said all schooling and other indoor activities will be interrupted for the duration of the order.

Health warnings will be announced twice daily in Arabic, Farsi, English, French, Greek and other languages depending on nationalities in each camp, the ministry said.

Indoor communal areas will be sanitised every day, as will doorknobs, it said.