No asylum seekers are accommodated in the waiting areas of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) in Ter Apel during the night from Thursday to Friday. This was not necessary the night before either.
The intention is that this will not happen at all again, a spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) told the ANP news agency.
According to the spokesperson, the waiting areas are in principle no longer used now that the Justice and Security Inspectorate and the GGD in Groningen have concluded that the areas are unhygienic and not fireproof, among other things.
A temporary night shelter was opened in Stadskanaal on Thursday evening. These are heated tents with room for two hundred people. It is not known exactly how many people have already been taken there and how many people are currently staying in the registration center in Ter Apel.
Asylum seekers who arrive in Ter Apel in the evening or at night are in principle taken to the location in Stadskanaal, with the exception of vulnerable people. Although the COA spokesperson does not expect a large crowd in Ter Apel due to the weather conditions.
One hundred shelter places will also become available on Friday in a student complex on Peizerweg in the city of Groningen.