(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 14 - The interior ministry said Tuesday that migrants that arrive in Italy may be put into coronavirus quarantine at military hospitals Soon after the announcement it emerged that 13 migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 after landing Calabria at the weekend will be transferred to Rome's Celio military hospital.
The move comes after the government issued another call for expressions of interest for owners willing to rent ships to be used for COVID-19 quarantine after a first call garnered no bids.
The new call is open to bids until July 16.
The ministry said it continues to pay "the utmost attention to the protection of citizens' health, in particular in regions such as Sicily and Calabria that are the most exposed to the autonomous arrival of migrants".
The ministry said it has "reinforced surveillance measures, including for local reception facilities, with the possibility of the transfer of migrants under quarantine to military hospitals, where necessary".
There has been tension in parts of southern Italy after the arrival of asylum seekers infected with the coronavirus.
The migrants being moved to the Celio facility were in quarantine at a facility in the town of Amantea with soldiers keeping watch 24 hours a day after they were part of a group of around 70 Bangladeshis that landed in Roccella Ionica on Saturday.
Furthermore, swabs showed that 11 migrants from a group of 60 Asians who landed in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo on Monday are positive for COVID-19. (ANSA).
COVID-19: Military hospitals to be used to quarantine migrants
No bids made in response to call to rent ships for quarantine