COVID-19 Impact in the Italian reception system for migrants during the nationwide lockdown: read the latest scientific paper by INMP

A paper by the Italian National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP) concerning a national observational study on the impact of COVID-19 in the Italian reception system for migrants during the nationwide lockdown has just been published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

The study presents the findings of a national survey agreed by INMP and the Ministry of the Interior to investigate both the incidence and health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the guests of the reception system for migrants and the implementation of public health measures of COVID-19 in the reception facilities, in case of COVID-19 cases being found.

In May 2020, reception centre managers were asked to fill in an ad hoc online questionnaire focusing on the nationwide lockdown period and collecting information regarding the characteristics of facilities and guests and of suspected and confirmed SARS CoV-2 cases that may have been detected in the observation period. Information concerning public health measures taken by reception centres managers and local health authorities in case of positivity or close contacts was also recorded.

At national level, the study found that the incidence of COVID-19 in the migrant reception system for migrants (about 400 cases per 100,000) was substantially similar to that of the resident population during the same period reflecting the North-South gradient of the Italian pandemic wave in the general resident population. Few clusters were detected, in particular in reception centres with the highest saturation index. Positive migrants were hospitalised in 25.9% of cases and no COVID-19-related deaths were observed.

Considering the potential risk of spread represented by the permeability of facilities (e.g due to operators who daily delivered services and goods in the centres) and the higher number of migrants hosted in the centres (11.8 on average in our study) compared to that of Italian households (2.3 in average), the study showed a global resilience of the Italian reception system for migrants in limiting the spread of the pandemic within facilities during the observation period, well beyond the expectations. 

This is the first study providing robust evidence on both cases of COVID-19 detected in the reception system for migrants, and related health outcomes. While focusing on the first pandemic wave, the study tested the resilience of the Italian reception system for migrants in a pandemic period with a rapid increase in cases highlighting, in overall, an epidemiological scenario in line with that observed in the rest of the country.

The full text is available open access at: COVID-19 Impact in the Italian Reception System for Migrants during the Nationwide Lockdown: A National Observational Study