Medical reports on board about the situation.

There is still no port for the “Alan Kurdi”. The Regensburg non-governmental organization Sea-Eye ship, which rescued 150 migrants from distress on Monday, was heading to Sicily on Saturday night to seek climate protection in the northwest of the island. In the morning, the ship received an urgent delivery of food from Italy. However, the situation on board continues to deteriorate, operations management warns. There were more people on the ship than ever. A call on board.

Caterina, you are on board the rescue ship “Alan Kurdi” as a doctor. How do you experience the current situation?

It is very tight on board. People have little space and only one blanket per person. It is cold at night, they have to sleep on the deck. You cannot change your clothes. We were able to allow them to wash their things once and we arranged a shower for them on Saturday. But compared to what many of us have, it is the bare minimum. We’ve been telling you every day since Monday that we don’t know where to go or how long it will take. They struggle to understand this, but the frustration is growing.

One person had to be brought on board to receive medical attention ashore. How do you currently assess the situation from a medical perspective?

Fortunately, we don’t have to care for young children. But many people are weak, they were in Libyan camps. Some of them have traces of torture: scars, burns. A person has broken fingers that are not healing properly. Some have chronic illnesses like diabetes. Many feel pain because they sleep on the floor. Fortunately, there is currently nothing sharp, and only a few are dizzy due to the calm weather. But that can change quickly. The fact that a sick person has already been brought ashore is a great psychological challenge for anyone who has had to remain on board.

Italy and Malta do not want to invest the “Alan Kurdi” due to the crown crisis. Do you fear an outbreak of the virus on board?

So far, no one has shown signs of the virus. On the first day we examined all the people and an infection was ruled out for all of them. Nothing has changed in the past few days. This makes me optimistic that there is no case among the saved. The crew has been together for three weeks, no one had symptoms. But we would be prepared for emergencies: we could isolate the person and have protective clothing.

You have already received a grocery delivery from Italy. How is it in the on-board hospital? Do you still have enough medications?

There is still no bottleneck. If the weather worsens, the situation could change rapidly. If even half of the 149 people on board get dizzy, we have a big problem. We need a safe haven.