Passengers check in for a flight back to Vietnam on May 14. Photo by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines
All passengers and the plane crew underwent health checks before being transferred to quarantine facilities on the same day, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.
According to the Ministry's Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang, the passengers were people in difficult circumstances like children under 18, pregnant women, people with health problems, and students without a residence visa due after dormitories were shutdown in the Philippines, as well as tourists and those whose visas had expired but could not leave the country due to the pandemic.
"Vietnamese people abroad are encouraged to comply with instructions of the host countries and refrain from travelling," Hang said, adding that Vietnam will continue arranging more commercial flights to repatriate citizens from foreign countries, with focus on those in difficulties.
Since mid-April, Vietnam has worked with many countries like the UK., Italy, Germany, Japan, Thailand, the UAE, and the US to organise flights to bring Vietnamese home after countries suspended commercial routes as a safety and containment measure. There will be 13 such flights.
Since March 22, Vietnam has suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers. Only Vietnamese nationals and foreigners having diplomatic and official passports such as business managers, experts and high-skilled workers will be allowed to enter the country at this time, and all entrants will be quarantined for 14 days.
Vietnam recorded no new Covid-19 transmission cases in the community for four weeks as of 6pm on May 14, according to the Ministry of Health.
The patient tally remains at 288, and 260 patients have so far recovered from the disease, accounting for 90 percent of the total.