A Toronto man who needs dialysis three times a week has been given a last-minute reprieve from being deported to China, which is battling a deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Ming Guo, 52, was slated to be deported early next week but the Canada Border Services Agency informed his lawyer on Tuesday that the removal has been deferred and that his application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds would be reassessed.

“Mr. Guo is to continue to abide by any terms and conditions imposed and attend any scheduled interviews with CBSA as required,” the agency said in a letter to the man’s lawyer.

Guo, who fled to Canada after the Tiananmen Square Massacre in Beijing in 1989, said he was relieved by the agency’s decision, which means he can continue caring for his ailing parents, both 85, in Canada.

“I want to thank the Toronto Star for writing about my case,” Guo said. “Also, I want to thank the legal clinic for helping me fight this case. They gave me the chance to continue to stay here to look after my parents.”

Last Friday, Canada Border Services Agency announced it was temporarily deferring removals to Hubei province, where the majority of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus were identified. However, deportees who are deemed inadmissible to Canada for criminality, human rights violations and national security reasons continue to be subject to removal to Hubei.

On Tuesday, China reported 425 deaths and 20,438 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus. Outside mainland China, at least 180 cases have been confirmed.

Guo, who is from Liaoning province and suffers kidney failure, got his permanent resident status in 1993 under a special government program for Chinese dissidents. In 2011, he was arrested after trying to make a purchase with a credit card he found in a mall. As a result of the criminal conviction, he was ordered deported.

An appeal tribunal temporarily stayed his removal with strict terms and conditions, including that he regularly report to the border agency. He said he was not informed that he needed to attend a final tribunal hearing to complete the restoration of his permanent residence. The border agency tracked him down in December and issued a date for his deportation.

“I am happy for Mr. Guo but I hope the border agency will consider deferring all removals to China until the coronavirus outbreak is completely under control,” said Avvy Go of the Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, which represented Guo.

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