The Vietnamese Embassy in India worked with local authorities to bring nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens home stranded by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nearly 340 Vietnamese citizens are brought home from India on May 20. Photo by the Vietnamese Embassy in India
Vietnam Airlines Flight VN88 was operated from New Delhi landed at Can Tho International Airport on Wednesday morning.
The passengers were people in difficult circumstances like children under 18, the elderly, as well as tourists and those whose visas had expired but could not leave the country due to the pandemic.
All passengers and the plane crew underwent health checks before being transferred to quarantine facilities.
This flight earlier transported nearly three tonnes of medical equipment as gifts from the Vietnamese Government and people to their Indian counterparts.
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.
Vietnam has suspended entry for all foreign nationals, including those of Vietnamese origin and family members with visa waivers from March 22. 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.
As of May 20, Vietnam has gone 34 straight days without new Covid-19 infection cases in the community, according to the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control.
The total infection cases in the country remains at 324, and 264 patients have been discharged from hospitals and no death has been reported.
