Calls mount for Greek refugee camps to be evacuated 

Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) have called on the Greek government and its EU partners to take immediate action to avoid the spread of the coronavirus in the controversial Moria refugee camp on Lesvos island, after the camp’s first COVID-19 case was confirmed. 

The organizations warn the pandemic could spread rapidly through the camp which is known for its inhumane living conditions. 

Over 12,000 people live in the camp that was built for less than 3,000.

Watchdog groups say there aren’t enough toilets, showers, or access to water while many people are forced to either sleep in overcrowded tents or to sleep rough. 

According to the watchdog organizations up to 160 people are forced to share a single dirty toilet and there is only one shower for every 500 refugees. 

The poor conditions are raising concerns across Europe. On Tuesday, protesters set up 3,000 chairs outside the German parliament in Berlin in protest against the overcrowding of Moria camp. 

Protestors said the first positive test of COVID-19 has made the need for intervention more urgent. 

In addition to the immediate evacuation of all camps, groups are demanding that individual states “make use of their leeway and decide on state reception programs.”

The organizations, including Aktion Seebrücke, Sea Watch, and Campact say that the first confirmed case of coronavirus at Moria adds urgency to the long-standing calls for the camp’s evacuation.

Greek authorities last week imposed a 14-day quarantine on Moria after one man who had been living in a tent outside the camp fence tested positive for the virus. Germany has agreed to take in a total of 243 children from camps in Greece who need medical treatment, as well as their closest relatives. However, advocacy organizations say that is not enough.