Guatemala expands testing of deportees arriving from US

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemala has started testing all deportees arriving on flights from the United States for COVID-19 if anyone on their flight tests positive for the disease, a government spokesperson said Wednesday, a day after the health minister said deportees were driving up the country's caseload.

Health Ministry spokeswoman Ana Lucía Gudiel said that when Guatemala resumed receiving deportation flights on Monday after a one week pause, the government began sending any deportees who showed symptoms for immediate testing while the rest were isolated at a shelter at the airport.

If any of those tests comes back positive, all deportees aboard that flight are tested, she said.

If they are negative, all the deportees are sent home within a couple days and told to self-quarantine inside their homes.

Previously, only those who displayed symptoms upon arrival were tested while the rest were sent home with instructions to quarantine themselves.

The new shelter is located at Guatemala City’s international airport where the flights arrived. Circulated photographs of the area show thin foam pads laid out on the floor inside an area of the terminal.

Health Minister Hugo Monroy did not answer requests for comment Wednesday.

On Tuesday, he brought the country’s reporting of infected deportees into question by mentioning a flight where 50% to 75% of the passengers were later found to be infected.

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