Isha Sesay
HUNDREDS of migrants have arrived by boat at the Balearic Islands in less than 48 hours.
The Guardia Civil and Policia Nacional have so far reported the discovery of 232 people, including seven children.
The migrants had travelled on 15 boats, washing up on the shores of Mallorca and Formentera from North Africa.
At approximately 5am this morning, a vessel arrived in Cala Galiota in Mallorca carrying 12 people, two of which were minors.
Just a few moments later another boat arrived in Cala Santanyi, one of the most popular beaches on the Mallorcan isle.
This vessel had 11 migrants on board with a further two people being found on the shores of Llucmajor an hour later.
Police officers were then deployed to the Migjorn and Llevant area after the force received information that there would likely be more arrivals.
This tip off proved true, with agents finding three immigrants on the ground.
Between Monday night and Tuesday morning, a total of 181 migrants arrived in Mallorca, with a further 23 arriving in Formentera.
All were subjected to PCR testing to detect the presence of coronavirus, and depending on the result, their case will be managed in two different ways.
Those that are COVID-19 negative will be transferred to the mainland and be put in the care of an NGO.
Those that test positive will be isolated at a government residence until a negative result is produced.
It comes after a group of migrants rescued off the coast of Alicante were forced to isolate following fears that they had contracted coronavirus.
Out of the 79 immigrants saved from Costa Blanca, 17 were thought to have Covid-19, with four officially testing positive for the virus.
