COVID-19
COVID-19 in Greece
Greece has been severely hit by the COVID-19-pandemic. In eight out of thirteen regions of the country (with the Northern Agean area among them and where the island Lesbos is located), the current incidence of new infections is higher than 50 infections per 100.000 inhabitants weekly.
Greece
COVID-19 in Camp Moria
The refugees do not have the luxury of keeping 1.5-meter-distance among each other as there is simply not enough space, not within tents and not within queues. Barging and pushing often happens, increasing the levels of contact between people, and hence the transmission of COVID-19 becomes easier. By 23 September 2020, 243 cases of SARS-CoV-2 were reported in the camp, putting at risk some of the 7500 others living or working in the centre. Studies show that the probability of spreading the novel coronavirus in queues when the waiting time is 150 seconds is almost eight times more than that of 30 seconds waiting time in the line. This is elaborated on further in the COVID-19 transmission deepening.
To fight the spread of COVID-19 equipment such as hand sanitizer bottles and disinfecting wipes are handed out to stop the transmission of COVID-19. These all include plastics. The combination of plastic bottles and PPE leads to a huge amount of plastic waste, which is not being recycled. It can take up to 450 years for this excess waste to biodegrade. It is important to address this threat towards the environment.
The current COVID-19 numbers for Camp Moria are unkown. Refugees reported that people with symptoms of COVID-19 have to stay in an isolated part of the camp, without doctors checking them.
The needs of Camp Moria in times of COVID-19
In times of COVID-19 it is most important to guard the health of the refugees. Refugees also need more access to drinking water and less time in queues. Spending less time in queues will not only lower the risk of getting infected with COVID-19, it will also an opportunity to do something that is not queuing. Therefore, it is incredibly important to combat the queues in Moria. Our solar distillation device is a viable solution that – from an epidemiological perspective – will reduce lines in the camp, thereby decreasing the risk and severity of potential uncontrolled outbreaks. By reducing the length and duration of queues in Moria, Solar Still will dramatically contribute to lowering the contagion with the disease. Thus, it will decrease suffering in the camp and potentially save more than 200 lives. Lastly, the refugees in Moria need a cleaner environment to live in and a planet with a future. Solar Still can make a huge difference here, since 12 000 bottles a day less will be used. This will keep the camp clean and liveable.
Read our context study here