Migrants bring covid to Lampedusa again

On the island of Lampedusa, the number of coronavirus infections is on the rise, as authorities registered 55 new cases in the last 24 hours and 4 infected people were flown to hospitals in Palermo in the past two days. Residents on Lampedusa are increasingly afraid that they may contract the disease. As a result, Mayor Toto Martello has decided to close the local market and introduced a ban – to be enforced across the whole island, including the immediate vicinity of commercial units and refugee camps – on consuming foods and drinks outdoors.

The mayor of Lampedusa stressed that he was also concerned about the growing number of arrivals from Libya. Last weekend, more than 400 people made landfall on the Italian island. “Here in Lampedusa, we worry about the fact that people smuggling routes are becoming increasingly active in Libya. I don’t know what will happen if maritime conditions become even more favourable for transit from Africa,” Toto Martello said.

According to Mr Martello, “the pressure on the island is currently being alleviated by quarantine vessels provided by the interior ministry, but it is not enough, as both these ships and the hotspots have been filled with immigrants during the weekend.”

If someone doesn’t take action against migration, we will continue to go from one emergency to another, Mr Martello said.

He also called on Prime Minister Mario Draghi to “pay maximum attention to aspects related to migration.”

“The situation is serious. The benefits of the adopted measures will soon be visible, but the numbers are expected to increase further in the coming days. In any case, there are still some who do not pay enough attention to the situation we are experiencing, so we were forced to impose further restrictions,” the mayor explained.