During the corona-crisis period, Italy again experienced a real influx of migrants. Only last Sunday, 422 illegal immigrants arrived on the island of Lampedusa.
The head of the local administration, Salvatore Martello, warned people against coming to the island:
We don’t know where to put people”.
He called for the creation of the so-called “quarantine ship”. This ship is anchored between Lampedusa and the Sicilian port of Porto Empedocle. This is necessary to ensure the isolation of asylum seekers who come to the island.
The Tirrenia Italian ship company Rubattino is moored off the coast of Palermo, where nearly 200 migrants are quarantined for two weeks and then distributed to other EU countries. Italy and Malta said they would not allow migrants to go ashore during the coronavirus pandemic, as migrants would not be able to receive medical care.