Greece will move hundreds of elderly and ailing asylum seekers out of congested island camps starting next week to protect them from the coronavirus pandemic, the migration ministry said on Thursday.
The ministry said 2,380 "vulnerable persons" will be moved out of camps on Aegean islands to apartments, hotels and other camps on the mainland.
Authorities said the operation will begin on April 19 and take about two weeks. Details will be announced at a later date.
"This additional protective measure aims to further reduce the risk of a (virus) outbreak," the ministry said.
Those to be moved include 200 asylum-seekers over the age of 60 who will be accompanied by their families. Another group of 1,730 includes people with prior ailments and their relatives, the ministry said.
No coronavirus case has been officially reported in camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. But there have been outbreaks in two camps on the mainland.
Some 100,000 asylum seekers are currently stranded in Greece after other European states closed their borders in 2016.
The camps on islands near Turkey suffer the worst overcrowding with more than 36,000 people in sites built for 6,100.
A separate scheme to gradually relocate 1,600 unaccompanied minors from war-torn countries to other European nations also began this week.
Greece transferred a dozen unaccompanied children from overcrowded camps to Luxembourg on Wednesday, the first of more than 1,000 relocations that are being expedited amid concerns over the impact of coronavirus on vulnerable groups.
Another group of 50 children is expected to fly from Athens to Germany on Saturday, and 20 more will head to Switzerland at a later date. Greece hopes to relocate some 1,600 unaccompanied minors in the coming months.
The children relocated on Wednesday were aged between 11 and 15. Ten were from Afghanistan and two from Syria.
