ADDIS ABABA — The United Nations said on Monday that deportations of illegal migrant workers by Saudi Arabia to Ethiopia risked spreading the coronavirus and it urged Riyadh to suspend the practice for the time being. Saudi Arabia has so far deported 2,870 Ethiopian migrants to Addis Ababa since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the U.N. migration agency said. An internal U.N. memo seen by Reuters said Saudi Arabia was expected to deport some 200,000 Ethiopian migrants in total. Other Gulf Arab states, Kenya and other neighboring countries are also expected to repatriate Ethiopian migrants, it said. TESTING AND QUARANTINEHealth Minister Lia Tadesse told Reuters that some of the deported migrants had tested positive for coronavirus but she did not have exact numbers.

Source: National Post April 13, 2020 16:41 UTC