Turkey evacuates hundreds of migrants from Greek border amid virus pandemic

Ankara has sent some 6,000 migrants waiting at the Turkish-Greek border to cross into the European Union to cities inside the country, Reuters reported on Friday, citing the Interior Ministry. The move was part of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Migrants waiting at the border crossing in Edirne province were transported in buses to state guest houses where they would be quarantined, Anadolu news agency reported. They would be moved to other regions in Turkey at the end of the quarantine, it added.

Thousands of migrants had massed at a border crossing with European Union-member Greece after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last month that his country would no longer prevent refugees and other migrants wanting to travel to EU countries. Violent clashes erupted between the migrants and Greek border authorities trying to push them back.

Turkey has so far reported 75 deaths related to the new coronavirus and 3,629 infections, AP said. It was not clear if any of the migrants at the border had contracted the virus.