Residents in Direct Provision centres can't socially distance themselves

A woman living in a direct provision centre said last night that residents cannot socially distance themselves from each other or self- isolate.

She said that when she and others among the hundreds of people in the centre asked what its Covid-19 plan is, none of the staff could tell them.

This is, they say, despite the fact that one of the residents has been told to self-isolate while she waits for the Covid-19 test her GP has booked for her because she is displaying flu-like symptoms.

The woman, in a letter to the Irish Examiner last night, pleaded for the State to help her, the other residents, and those in other DP centres around the country.

“The HSE posters about the importance of handwashing are up in the centre and there is an attempt to promote social distancing,” she wrote.

“But it’s just impossible. Over the last two weeks we’ve been asking what the plan is for when people start falling ill in greater numbers. No one can tell us.

“Please start moving people now. There is no time to wait.

“We cannot look back in a few months and say ‘if only’. We need action today.”

Her plea comes just days after refugee support groups warned that DP centres would be unable to cope if they were to be hit by a Covid-19 outbreak.

There are more than 5,600 people living in the country’s 39 DP centres. Of these, more than 1,700 are children.

Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre CEO Fiona Finn recently warned that up to six people are living in the same room in DP centres.

She pointed out that some of these people are also immuno-compromised.

She said that even washing hands properly can be a problem, with so many people using the same sink.

Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland spokesman Bulelani Mfaco said that, in a number of busy direct provision centres, it would be impossible to self-isolate.

The woman added in her letter: “There is no space for more self-isolation rooms. We are scared, we are anxious. What happens when more start to get sick? Where are we supposed to go?

“My main concern is for the older and more vulnerable people. Theyneed to be moved out of direct provision and emergency accommodation centres now before it’s too late. What exactly are we waiting for?”