Italy's foreign minster Luigi Di Maio on Tuesday had a telephone conversation with his Maltese counterpar Evarist Bartolo.
Both Malta and Italy earlier this month declared their ports closed to migrant disembarkation, citing the Covid-19 Coronavirus pandemic as their primary concern. Over 320 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean are currently being held in quarantine aboard a ferry off Sicily.
It is understood the migrants will be held in isolation for 14 days and tested for Covid-19 before being redistributed among European Union countries.