Two migrants who arrived on the Greek island of Lesbos last week after departing Turkey have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, a development that follows claims the Turks may be purposely sending infected migrants.
The two migrants arrived from Turkey on the island is Lesbos in the Aegean Sea on the 6th of May and were identified as being infected with the coronavirus as part of a random check with the two migrants not being sent to the Moria migrant camp but quarantined in a special area on the island.
According to a report from Greek newspaper Proto Thema, the quarantine area is located near the beach of Efthalou in the far north of the island, far from Moria which lies to the south-east of Lesbos.
The boat containing the migrants contained 51 individuals overall and on Sunday another boat landed carrying 19 migrants, all of them men from Iran and Afghanistan. The passengers of the second ship will also be checked for signs of the Wuhan coronavirus and given a 14-day quarantine.
The confirmation of migrants leaving Turkey for Greece while infected with the coronavirus comes after speculation by some in the Greek media that Turkey may be sending migrants infected with coronavirus to Greece on purpose as the infection spreads in migrant camps within Turkey.
Greek journalist Lygeros Stavros made the accusation in early April saying, “everything leads to the conclusion that the Turkish state has consciously orchestrated an informal biological warfare attack against Greece,” citing an incident in which Turkish coast guard boats allegedly helped a migrant boat and were wearing medical protection suits while doing so.
So far the large number of migrants who gathered at the Greek border from February until the end of March have not returned to the Greek border in significant numbers but both Greek and Turkish authorities have stated they will return en masse after the coronavirus crisis ends.