Rescue boat with 422 migrants, some testing positive for Covid-19, heads to Sicily | South China Morning Post
▻https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3120920/rescue-boat-422-migrants-some-testing-positive-covid-19-heads-sicily
A rescue ship with 422 migrants aboard, a small number of whom tested positive for Covid-19, was headed to a port in Sicily on Sunday.SOS Mediterranee, the humanitarian group which operates the rescue ship Ocean Viking, said Italy had granted the vessel permission to enter the port of Augusta, where it was expected to arrive on Sunday evening, just as rain and strong winds were forecast.The migrants were rescued in separate operations in the central Mediterranean Sea on Thursday and Friday, including 121 who were crowded into a rubber dinghy. Some of the passengers fell into the sea during that rescue operation but were brought to safety, SOS Mediterranee said in a statement by Luisa Albera, search and rescue coordinator aboard the Ocean Viking.
In all, four distinct rescue operations were carried out over two days. Many of those rescued are women and children.Originally, a total of 424 were rescued, but a pregnant woman and her companion were evacuated urgently by helicopter to Malta on Saturday, the statement said.
Eight of the rescued migrants have Covid-19, according to tests administered by the crew, and were being isolated on board despite the difficulties of crowded conditions on deck.“But although strict Covid-19 mitigation protocols apply on board the Ocean Viking, this is a vessel of 69 metres (228 feet) in length,” Albera said. “This situation is a further reason for the remaining 422 survivors, who are in confined space on the aft deck, to be promptly disembarked in a place of safety,” she said. Among the passengers are other pregnant women, babies and unaccompanied minors among the children.
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