CHIOS – The Deputy Director-General in charge of the “Task Force Migration Management” in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME), Beate Gminder, visited the quarantine facility for refugees and migrants in Lefkonia on Chios on Friday, with a joint delegation from DG HOME and the Greek migration and asylum ministry.

Gminder was shown around the facility and briefed by the director of the VIAL reception and identification centre on the island.

After the visit, she said that, a year after the signature of the contract providing funds for the quarantine facility in Brussels, she was very glad to see that this money had been put to such good use and the many things that had been done.

She also thanked everyone involved and all those who assisted to permit the people arriving on the island to recover, expressing confidence that all health protocols with respect to the pandemic are being observed.

Gminder expressed satisfaction that the people arriving in Europe that need protection were being taken care of, noting that this was "a major problem in the last five years but through the very good cooperation we have with the Greek government, we have better results: both for the people that live here and for the local community."