Greece Aegean Islands Weekly Snapshot: 22 - 28 June 2020
- Countries
- Greece
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- Sources
- UNHCR
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Arrivals
This week, 49 people arrived on the Aegean islands, a decrease from last week’s 106 arrivals and from last year’s 534 arrivals during the same period.
The average daily arrivals on all islands this week equaled 7, compared to 15 in the previous week.
Present Population on the Islands
Some 35,500 refugees and asylum-seekers reside on the Aegean islands. The majority of the population on the Aegean islands are from Afghanistan (49%), Syria (19%) and Somalia (6%).
Women account for 22% of the population, and children for 33% of whom more than 6 out of 10 are younger than 12 years old.
Approximately 13% of the children are unaccompanied or separated, mainly from Afghanistan.
Shielding against Covid-19
To ‘shield’ the older and immune-compromised asylum-seekers from the risk of COVID19, UNHCR is currently prioritizing their transfer out of the island RICs into ESTIA apartments on the islands or the mainland and hotels on the islands. This week, 20 people were moved, of whom 15 to ESTIA on the mainland, and 5 to ESTIA on the island.
Entry Points by Sea
Lesvos received the highest number of arrivals (40) followed by the Dodecanese islands (9). Samos and Chios received no arrivals.
This week, 754 asylum-seekers departed, once authorized by the authorities, from the Aegean islands to the mainland. Of those, 89 were transferred by the Government with the support of UNHCR to ESTIA apartments currently managed by UNHCR.