The UK government has said it will offer vaccinations against diphtheria to all newly arrived illegal immigrants at the Manston processing centre in Kent, after confirming a detainee who died last week had tested positive for the illness.
The Home Office said the man—who had reportedly arrived in the UK on Nov. 12 after crossing the English Channel illegally on a small boat—died in the hospital on Nov. 19 after “becoming unwell” in the temporary holding facility for illegal immigrants.
The Home Office initially said there was “no evidence at this stage to suggest that this tragic death was caused by an infectious disease.” But the government has now confirmed that the man had tested positive for diphtheria, a highly contagious infection affecting the nose, throat, and sometimes skin….