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A group of 180 migrants were tested for COVID-19 by Italian authorities before being given the go-ahead on July 5 to disembark in the country from the Ocean Viking vessel on Monday, July 6.

SOS Mediterranee, an NGO that seeks to rescue migrants and refugees in the Mediterranean, wrote in its mission report following the tests that there was “relief on board” as the Ocean Viking was instructed to proceed to Porto Empedocle, Sicily, where the migrants could disembark on July 6.

Video released by the organization shows medical staff in full protective gear arrive aboard the Ocean Viking ship to carry out testing on the migrants aboard the vessel.

According to the mission summary, the Ocean Viking left Marseille, France, on June 22 and has gathered 180 survivors following four rescue operations – two on June 25 and two on June 30.

SOS Mediterranee said in its statement that the ship had declared a state of emergency. “The mental distress caused by their ordeal in Libya and the current situation is unbearable for many” of the migrants, the NGO said, and several had attempted suicide as they waited aboard the ship. Credit: SOS Mediterranee via Storyful