Greece locks 'migrant hotel' in Peloponnese after mass coronavirus cases

Greece has ordered the shutting down of a hotel in Peloponnese where according to reports at least 150 people have tested for coronavirus.

The hotel has been put under "health blockade", according to reports.

The hotel allegedly had "illegal migrants", a Somali pregnant woman was reportedly found to be coronavirus positive on Easter Sunday, including a hotel employee had earlier tested positive for COVID-19.

The hotel reportedly has several asylum seekers. Several thousand asylum seekers are stranded in the country after European countries closed their borders four years ago. 

Greece has over 2,000 cases of coronavirus with 119 people dieing of the virus with 61 patients in intensive care.

Peloponnese, located 66 kilometers southwest of Athens has cordoned off the area with tight security measures. The country's migration ministry had said earlier that it would be moving elderly and ailing asylum seekers out of congested island camps to protect them from coronavirus.

The ministry had identified 2,380 "vulnerable persons" who it said would be moved out of camps on Aegean islands to apartments and hotels on the mainland.

"This additional protective measure aims to further reduce the risk of a (virus) outbreak," the ministry said.

Although no coronavirus case has been reported in camps on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos but authorities have kept a close eye while taking precautions not to let COVID-19 cases emerge in the camps.