The government of Greece has established a new facility on the island of Lesbos to move thousands of migrants and refugees left homeless after a fire destroyed their overcrowded camp last week.

The country’s police said that the operation included 70 female police officers who were approaching asylum-seekers with the aim of persuading them to move to the new camp in the island’s Kara Tepe area.

Moria camp burned down last week in a tragic incident that claimed over 1,200 people.

However, according to the UN refugee agency, the new camp consists of large family tents erected in a field by the sea.

The agency pointed out that by Wednesday, it had a capacity of around 8,000 people.

New arrivals are tested for the coronavirus, registered, and assigned a tent.

"This is an operation for the protection of public health and with clear humanitarian content,” the police said in a statement.

Moria had a capacity of just over 2,700 people, but more than 12,500 people had been living in and around it when it burned down.