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| - The United States has suspended expulsions of Salvadorans who entered the country illegally, Salvadoran officials said, citing the coronavirus pandemic as the reason. "The flights are suspended," Carolina Recinos, a senior Salvadoran official, said Wednesday. "Since yesterday (Tuesday) returns have been suspended until further notice." The Central American country has yet to record a confirmed case but last weekend its Congress announced a state of emergency, restricting freedom of movement and banning entry for foreigners, as well as requiring all nationals to undergo 20 day quarantine. Salvadorans who have been expelled from the United States in recent weeks have been placed in quarantine centers where they are isolated from the population for 30 days to avoid the potential spread of the virus, Recinos said. She did not say when she thought the United States would resume expulsions of Salvadorans caught entering the country illegally. Guatemala, another Central American nation, also announced this week the suspension of the return of illegal immigrants from the US. Roughly 37,000 Salvadorans were expelled from the United States and Mexico last year, up from around 26,000 in 2018, according to official El Salvadoran government statistics. ob/rbu/jm
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