In order to inform migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers about the coronavirus emergency in Italy, the Italian Recreation and Cultural Association and UN Refugee Agency have launched an online platform. They also started a free hotline that provides people with medical advice.
The site provides
information about how to avoid infection and about government measures. It also provides answers to frequently asked questions with regards to the coronavirus emergency. The page will be continually updated, according to the Italian Recreation and Cultural Association (ARCI), which launched the platform together with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
The site is currently available in multiple languages, including English, Italian, French, and Arabic.
It also features contain an audio section with podcasts in various languages, and -- according to ARCI -- it will soon have informative short videos.
You can find the English version of the site here.
Free emergency hotline
ARCI and UNHCR have also launched a toll-free number for refugees and asylum seekers in Italy. That number is 800 905 570.
"For the entire duration of the coronavirus emergency, the toll-free
number will remain active, providing consultations by doctors from
Médecins du Monde to ensure orientation and access to health and medical
services and the support of UNICEF," ARCI said.
"Migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers [have been] a population group that is currently receiving scarce or no attention," ARCI said in a statement. "Above all, the large reception or detention centers, together with the local communities that host them, risk paying a high price for this abandonment."
Migrant tested positive for corona
Meanwhile, a young man being hosted at a migrant reception centre in Milan has tested positive for the coronavirus. The man is currently in isolation in the dedicated coronavirus area at the Baggio military hospital. The reception center, located on Via Fantoli near the Linate airport, has been disinfected.