VoA: 'Greece Fears Turkey Plans to Send Streams of Migrants Infected With Coronavirus to Europe'

ATHENS - Greek forces are on heightened alert as reports have surfaced that Turkey is preparing to push through a fresh wave of migrants to Europe. Officials in Athens say, they fear that refugees infected with the coronavirus may be among the new wave of asylum seekers.

Greek government officials contacted by VOA say the heightened alert follows intelligence reports showing Turkish authorities moving refugee groups from remote inland areas to Turkey's western shores, where smugglers could secretly ferry then to Greek islands less than a few kilometers away.

They say Greece's coastguard, Air Force and Navy are increasing patrols along the Aegean waterway that divides Greece and Turkey... anticipating what they call an organized attempt by Ankara to push through thousands of asylum seekers to Europe.

Whether that push will include migrants infected by the coronavirus remains unclear, officials told VOA.

But on Sunday, leading Greek media reported that Turkey was in fact considering such a plan... hoping to exert fresh pressure on Europe to extract added financial aid for hosting nearly 4 million Syrian refugees and sparing the continent a fresh migration crisis.