Italy Deploys Army To Town Where Migrants With Covid Are In Quarantine

Italy has deployed the army to a town in the region of Calabria, to enforce a quarantine on an apartment block housing rescued migrants who tested positive for covid-19.

The 13 migrants from Bangladesh had been quarantined inside a building in Amantea, a town in the province of Cosenza after arriving from the coast and testing positive for coronavirus.

The authorities announced the migrants would be housed in Amantea and later moved on to Rome, but this caused protests from local residents who feared their confinement in the town might cause an outbreak of the virus.

At first, police guarded the buildings, but now dozens of soldiers have moved in to patrol the complex and ensure that the migrants are respecting the quarantine, and do not leave the block. Although this has not stopped the protests from the town’s residents.

The governor of Calabria Jole Santelli insisted that she “shared the concern” of the citizens of Amantea and whilst speaking to Sky TG24 TV she proposed that the government isolate migrants on boats, offshore.