TUNIS--The flow of illegal migration from North Africa to Italy has slowed down very much since the COVID-19 outbreak but smaller boats have continued to trickle to Italian shores. A dinghy carrying about 100 migrants arrived at the Sicilian town of Pozzallo on April 12, local authorities said. Confinement measures on the North African coast and fear of the pandemic in Italy seems to be dissuading most would-be migrants from undertaking the illegal journey across the Mediterranean. The transport ministry said in a statement those on board will be transferred to another ship, screened by health authorities and quarantined on that ship. The transport ministry statement said allowing the migrants to disembark would put too much pressure on already stretched health services in Sicily.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 12, 2020 18:00 UTC