(AFP) Italy is carrying out tests on 180 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean with a view to transferring them to a quarantine vessel in Sicily, an interior ministry source said Saturday.
The migrants have been on the Ocean Viking ship operated by SOS Mediterranee for over a week, with fights and suicide attempts on board prompting the charity to declare a state of emergency on Friday.
A medical team sent by authorities in Pozzallo, Sicily, “ascertained the absence of particular health problems and also reported that some tensions that had been registered on the ship are being overcome,” the ministry source said.
The medical team is testing the migrants for the COVID-19 virus after which they will be transferred to a quarantine ship currently in Porto Empedocle, also in Sicily.
