800 migrants have been transferred away from a residence for asylum seekers on the small Italian island of Lampedusa by ship. The move is to try to relieve some of the severe overcrowding at the centre, although it remains hugely oversubcribed.
It follows a promise made by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte during an emergency meeting with the Sicilian president Sebastiano “Nello” Musumeci on Wednesday night.
Musecemi had ordered the evacuation of all migrant camps in the region, which sparked a legal conflict with central government.
An administrative court suspended Musemeci’s decision, leading to the emergency meeting between he and Conte. Following that, the government evacuated the 800 and offered economic aid and a fiscal discount for the Lampedusa islanders.
After their transfer on Saturday, the migrants must spend 14 days in precautionary quarantine onboard the vessel that picked them up, the GNV Rhapsody.
Lampedusa’s mayor said none of the transferred migrants had tested positive for COVID-19.
500 migrants remain in the centre, which was intended to host no more than 200.