There were 239 migrants and refugees in the Italian reception system who tested positive for the novel coronavirus between February 1 and June 12. Almost all of them were living in centers in northern Italy.
Of the 239 reception center residents who caught COVID-19, a total of 64 people were hospitalized, two in intensive care, but no one died.
This information was revealed in a report on COVID-19 in Italy's migrant reception facilities, which was issued by the Italian Health Ministry and the National Institute for the Promotion of Health in Migrant Populations (INMP).
Health Ministry Undersecretary Sandra Zampa said that the report showed that there was "a good level of response by the reception system in the most critical phase of the pandemic."
Almost all COVID cases in the North
The report investigated 5,038 reception facilities (CAS, CARA, Siproimi, MSNA) out of the 6,837 registered by the Italian Interior Ministry.
Nearly all of the facilities where at least one resident tested positive for the novel coronavirus were in northern Italy -- 99% to be exact.
This reflects the distribution of cases throughout Italy: The north had far more coronavirus cases than the south.
The 239 cases were distributed across eight regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Molise), but half of them were concentrated in Lombardy and Piedmont.