Napier barracks is being used to house asylum seekers. Credit: ITV
Words ITV News Producer Harry Peet
A coronavirus outbreak at a former army barracks being used to house asylum seekers in Kent could now have grown to at least 100 positive cases, ITV News has been told.
One asylum seeker at the Napier Barracks near Folkestone claimed that almost one-quarter of the 400 men living there tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
Concerns were raised on Friday that cases could spiral out of control as the hundreds of men on the site were apparently still free to mix with each other and social distancing was “impossible.”
Wednesday January 20, 2021, 5:45 PM
There has been a mass coronavirus outbreak at Napier Barracks in Kent, which is being used to house asylum seekers Credit: PA
Words by ITV News Producer Harry Peet
ITV News has obtained a written statement on behalf of more than 200 asylum seekers living in a former army barracks in Kent calling for immediate help after a mass coronavirus outbreak.
Asylum seekers inside the Napier Barracks near Folkestone say at least 120 of the 400 residents tested positive for the virus this week.
On Wednesday, in a sign of unity, around half of the men living in the barracks have backed a letter expressing their concerns about social distancing being “impossible” and that they should not be blamed for the outbreak.