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Johan Leman, 31 July 2020

July 15.  31 migrants were found in a fruit transporting refrigerated truck with Turkish number plate at the Czech border near Dresden on the A17. These are men between 18 and 47 years old from Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq. https://apnews.com/c6ea9243f63b54679a4ba770191a518f

July 16.  24 migrants escape from a reception centre in Messina (Sicily). They had tested negative for Covid-19. https://messina.gds.it/articoli/cronaca/2020/07/16/trenta-migranti-in-fuga-dal-centro-di-accoglienza-di-messina-ferito-un-finanziere-858bdf32-6a0c-46e0-a020-874ad08abf7f/ https://www.lasicilia.it/news/cronaca/352764/rivolta-e-fuga-dal-cpa-di-messina-tutt-ora-ricercati-24-migranti.html

July 16. In Pozzallo, another 14 (out of 60) Pakistani migrant-newcomers test positive for Covid-19. On July 14, 11 tested already positive. https://www.ansa.it/sicilia/notizie/2020/07/16/migranti-altri-14-pachistani-positivi-a-pozzallo_925edad6-54b8-4c7b-aa7c-975016ab9bc8.html

July 21.  6 vessels with a total of 102 Tunisian migrants arrive in Lampedusa. The people are transferred in the hotspot of Imbriacola, where already 180 migrants are  housed (this is normally provided for 95 persons). A rubber boat with 12 migrants is sinking off the Libyan coast and calls for help via Alarm Phone. On July 20, a boat with 19 Algerians had already been received south of Sardinia. http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/cronaca/2020/07/21/migranti-sei-sbarchi-con-102-tunisini-a-lampedusa_1ffcfdd0-639d-48e5-882a-8f776d686b0a.html ; https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/07/21/news/lampedusa_sei_sbarchi_su_piccole_imbarcazioni_hotspot_di_nuovo_al_collasso-262551114/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I262430494-C12-P2-S1.8-T1 ; https://www.corriere.it/cronache/20_luglio_21/migranti-120-difficolta-un-gommone-largo-libia-d6534b56-cb8b-11ea-bf7a-0cc3d0ad4e25.shtml

July 21.  Turkey rescues 110 asylum seekers on the Aegean Sea who have been pushed back by the Greek Coast Guard. It concerned boats with 36, 31 and 43 persons on board. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/turkey-rescues-110-asylum-seekers-in-aegean/1918215

July 21.  A dinghy with 130 migrants on board was stopped by Libyan coastguard in international waters and returned to Libya. The IOM was waiting for them in Tripoli in order to guarantee a human treatment for them. Among the 130 migrants, 13 were minors. http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/cronaca/2020/07/22/migrantioimguardia-costiera-libia-ne-riporta-indietro-131_e80bf067-f57b-4b53-8cc4-64c49f6f871c.html

July 24.  In the night of July 22-23, 14 boats mostly with Tunisians but also Bangladeshi, arrived in Lampedusa (total of 294 people). At the Imbriacola hotspot, normally provided for the reception of 95 people, 960 migrants are currently accommodated. https://agrigento.gds.it/articoli/cronaca/2020/07/24/lampedusa-14-sbarchi-nella-notte-si-cerca-posto-per-i-migranti-in-mille-ammassati-nellhotspot-0997fd0d-fc46-494c-8b4a-; https://www.lasicilia.it/news/cronaca/353693/altra-notte-di-sbarchi-a-lampedusa-approdati-294-migranti.html

July 25.  The mayor of Lampedusa declares a state of emergency. The local hotspot with 1000 migrants accommodates more than ten times the number it was initially created for. Meanwhile, the merchant ship Como is asking to save and bring 110 migrants ashore. A dinghy with 70 migrants was pushed back by the Libyan coastguard, another with 56 migrants is waiting for help. https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/07/25/news/soccorsi_110_migranti_il_cosmo_in_attesa_di_un_porto_sicuro-262839074/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I262818925-C12-P1-S1.8-T1 ; https://www.corriere.it/cronache/20_luglio_25/migranti-sindaco-lampedusa-pronto-proclamare-stato-emergenza-a724e588-ce51-11ea-800a-f9b8d2d34e84.shtml 697823ea4628

July 26.  140 migrants/refugees on a boat in distress in the Maltese waters. One boat has 95 people on board, another 45. Neither Maltese nor Italian authorities showed any response. https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/07/26/news/migranti_due_barche_con_140_persone_in_difficolta_-262893423/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I262745208-C12-P1-S2.4-T1 ; https://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20200726_92672470

July 27.  The chaos in Lampedusa is great. In the night of July 26 to 27, 114 migrants come ashore: 70 Tunisians in 1 boat and 44 other migrants (40 Bangladeshi and 4 Moroccans) in a second boat. This actually means: 650 migrants in the local hotspot with a capacity of 95 people. In the meantime, 100 migrants fled from the migrant reception centre in Caltanissetta and there were also escapes from the centres in Pantelleria and Pozzallo. Note that the number of people living in a hotspot as the Lampedusa one may change very often. https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2020/07/27/news/migranti_nuovi_sbarchi_a_lampedusa_gli_abitanti_bloccano_il_porto-262978789/?ref=RHPPTP-BH-I262818925-C12-P6-S2.4-F4

July 27.  Maltese Armed Forces rescue 95 migrants from a sinking dinghy. There is criticism on the tardy intervention: more than 33 hours after the first alarm. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-malta/malta-rescues-95-migrants-from-sinking-dinghy-idUSKCN24S2FL

July 28.  On the night of July 27,  3 Sudanese migrants were killed and 5 injured after being shot by Libyan police during disembarkation. The head of the IOM in Libya argues for a different kind of reception manager when returning migrants. https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2020/07/28/due-migranti-riportati-in-libia-e-uccisi_f000ac5b-5346-4233-8877-8cf9c8540d7e.html ; https://italy.iom.int/it/notizie/loim-condanna-luccisione-di-due-migranti-intercettati-mare-e-riportati-libia

July 29.  Last night 314 migrants spread over 13 boats, arrived in Lampedusa, bringing once again the number of migrants in the hotspot to 1,101 . . https://agrigento.gds.it/articoli/cronaca/2020/07/29/e-sempre-piu-emergenza-migranti-a-lampedusa-nella-notte-giunti-altri-314-tunisini-c4d0a880-71e2-4159-953b-90ac5a839e6f/

July 29. A refugee camp with 1,500 refugees was dismantled north of Paris. People were brought to temporary shelters in Ile-de-France. They all would be tested for covid-19. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/french-police-dismantle-migrant-campsite-northern-paris-200729075909229.html

July 29.  According to the Maltese Ministry of Health, 65 of the 94 migrants rescued at sea on July 27 have tested positive for covid-19. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-malta-migrants/malta-says-65-rescued-migrants-test-positive-for-covid-19-idUSKCN24T2GV

July 30.  410 migrants were spread from the Lampedusa hotspot over the rest of Italy after being subjected to a multitude of tests. Vere few were tested positive for covid-19. . https://www.interno.gov.it/it/notizie/trasferiti-410-migranti-lampedusa-2500-test-sierologici-effettuati

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