Thousands stranded after Greek refugee camp blaze
The Greek island of Lesbos is still reeling from the fire that swept through a major refugee camp there, and thousands of the camp's residents are effectively stranded.
Many have been sleeping without shelter as a result -- and several have tested positive for coronavirus.
It's prompted authorities to rush 19,000 virus test kits to the island, fearing an outbreak is about to occur.
The fire first broke out Tuesday (September 8) at the camp, called Moria, but then a second fire late Wednesday (September 9) destroyed what was left from the first inferno.
The government said it would take days to find housing for some 12,500 people that were staying there.
A government spokesman, Stelios Petsas said the initial fire was started by asylum seekers reacting to quarantine measures after some inhabitants had tested positive, but he did not provide evidence of the arson allegation.
Moria has been a controversial subject for Lesbos for years, and protests both by migrants and local Greeks have occasionally turned violent.
Authorities were already at odds with some Lesbos residents over plans to replace Moria with a closed reception center,
Greece has sent at least 400 unaccompanied children and teenagers from the camp to the mainland for now.
But thousands more people remain stuck on the island with nowhere to sleep and little to eat.
