Ritsona refugee camp on full lockdown after 20 residents test positive for coronavirus

According to an announcement the decision was taken when authorities received the results of tests on people that came into contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient - a woman resident of the camp that is now in hospital after the delivery of her baby at an Athens hospital. After tracing and testing 63 people at the Ritsona camp, 20 were found to have contracted the virus but all were asymptomatic.

All staff at the facility have tested negative for coronavirus.

For the next 14 days, entering or exiting the facility will be strictly forbidden and the police presence in the area will be reinforced to enforce the lockdown.

A team from the migration ministry is overseeing the implementation of the measures and the General Secretariat for Reception, in collaboration with the NOPH, will arrange to cover the basic needs of the residents as regards food and healthcare, with the NOPH sending additional healthcare staff.

Contact-tracing among the camp's population will continue on Thursday in order to full record the extent of the virus' spread among Ritsona residents.

Greek authorities also announced that an asylum seeker staying in an apartment in Kilkis also tested positive for the novel coronavirus during her admission to an obstetric clinic in the city on Wednesday. The woman and her family have been instructed to strictly self-isolate and remain home for the next 14 days, while an NOPH team is now tracing the young woman's contacts.