A group of 94 migrants were brought to the island nation of Malta and at least 65 have tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports.
Authorities ‘rescued’ the migrants after they set off from Libya in a boat and became lost on the Mediterranean Sea for approximately 30 hours, eventually setting off a distress signal.
Most of the migrants reportedly hail from Eritrea, Morocco, and Sudan, the BBC reports.
After being brought to shore, Maltese authorities tested them for coronavirus, returning 65 confirmed cases, 20 negatives, and another nine pending or undetermined.
“Migrants arriving by boat are immediately quarantined for 14 days and tested. The migrants who are positive will continue to be isolated and the rest will remain in quarantine and followed up,” Malta’s health ministry said.
“This group arrived in Malta together and were in contact with very few other people before they were tested.”
The influx has effectively tripled the number of active coronavirus cases in Malta, which previously sat at around 35.
Newly-arrived migrants have shown little regard for coronavirus quarantines as of late.
Hundreds of illegal migrants recently broke out of multiple quarantine camps in Sicily, as Infowars Europe reported earlier this week.
According to some estimates, over 700 migrants managed to escape detention centers on the Italian island, where they had been held after arriving en masse from Africa.
