EU: New report highlights impact of pandemic on reception facilities for asylum seekers
06 April 2021
COVID-19 lockdown measures across Europe increased homelessness and destitution among asylum seekers due to evictions and the temporary closure of relevant administrations, says a new report by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS).
The report further underscores that asylum seekers were left with little to no basic support during this time, which was not the result of the Covid-19 outbreak but an already problematic approach to reception conditions.
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JRS’s study focussed on local reports from nine EU countries – Germany, Ireland, Belgium, France, Malta, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Spain – and compared data on the situation before, during and after the initial lockdown, which took place between March and June 2020.