TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – The Honduran government suspended deportation flights from Mexico on Tuesday, a senior official said, citing coronavirus fears and a lack of public health capacity for potential cases of infection.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nelly Jerez told reporters that the migrant flights will be stopped since the country does not have a designated area to quarantine people who may be infected arriving at the airport.
Only about a quarter of the 8,835 Honduran deportees from Mexico this year through March 8 have arrived in planes, while the rest arrive via buses, according to government data.
Bus deportations are not affected by the suspension. It was unclear if Honduras’ main bus terminal where the deportees arrive has a designated area to hold possibly infected persons.
(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa; Editing by Dave Graham and Matthew Lewis)
