Italy: 56 illegal boat migrants land in Lampedusa amid pandemic

Italian authorities brought 59 illegal boat migrants to shore in Lampedusa on Saturday night, despite claiming to have closed Italy’s ports to migrants earlier this month.

After spotting a wooden boat a mile from the coast of the Pelagie Islands, the Italian Coast Guard and the Guardia di Finanza intercepted the 59 illegal migrants and escorted them back to Favaloro Pier in Lampedusa where the migrants were immediately disembarked, Italian newspaper La Stampa reports.

The group of migrants, who claim to be from Cameroon, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), and Tunisia, are believed to have set sail from Tunisia. Two-thirds of the migrants onboard the boat were men. Because the migrant facility in Imbriacola already hosts 116 migrants, all of whom are under quarantine at present, the group of newly arrived migrants is expected to be transferred to Sicily on Sunday.

According to information provided to European Union officials by Italy’s Ministry of the Interior, a so-called “quarantine boat” is expected to be anchored somewhere in the stretch of sea which lies between Sicily and Lampedusa to welcome new migrants who come to Italy illegally.

At the beginning of April, Italy announced that it had “closed” its ports to NGO migrant transport ships, at least until July 31st, citing that the country could no longer be classified as a ‘place of safety’ due to the health crisis that’s resulted from the spread of the Chinese COVID-19 virus, as Voice of Europe reported. Despite their tough talk, the ruling Leftist coalition has continued to allow NGOs transport ships to disembark migrants at Italian ports.

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