Asylum seekers from across immigration detention centres have expressed significant concern about the risk to exposure to COVID-19 in an open letter to prime minister Scott Morrison, saying it will be extremely difficult to self-isolate and protect themselves while in detention. A Villawood detainee told the ABC that conditions in the detention centre were crowded and detainees were unable to comply with physical distancing rules required of the general public. The detainees were also concerned staff were not wearing any personal protective equipment. Visits to immigration detention centres have been cancelled. A detainee in Villawood detention centre has reportedly been tested for coronavirus.
The detainees’ calls for release were backed by leading Australian infectious disease specialists. The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Australian College of Infection Prevention and Control have also written to the Federal Government. The doctors warned that the estimated 1,400 asylum seekers and non-citizens being held in detention centres across Australia are living in crowded conditions that preclude adequate social distancing or self-isolation. The Home Affairs Department has reportedly rejected these calls to release detainees being held in immigration detention in Australia over COVID-19 concerns.
The Labor Opposition also called on the Australian government to extend visa deadlines and relax conditions for temporary visa holders, including people with bridging and temporary protection visas, in Australia that are ‘trapped’ as a result of the global travel bans and border closures.
Some 5,800 asylum seekers were evacuated from near Turkey’s border with Greece, as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The Turkish Interior Minister reported that these asylum seekers are being hosted in repatriation centres in nine provinces.