Vietnamese citizens at Sydney international airport on June 1. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — A total of 343 Vietnamese citizens boarded a specially arranged flight from Sydney, Australia to return home on June 1, according to Vietnam News Agency.

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is operating the flight, repatriating 243 Vietnamese stranded in Australia and another 100 stranded in New Zealand.

A total of 1,800 Vietnamese in these two countries have registered with Vietnamese diplomatic missions to fly home as borders remain close due to COVID-19 pandemic, but priority is given to those above 60 years old, students under 18 years old, those with underlying health conditions such as heart diseases or cancer, and stranded tourists.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Ngô Hướng Nam was present at Sydney international airport to aid the Vietnamese citizens.

All clear

On Monday afternoon, Nguyễn Văn Hai, head of Quảng Nam Province’s health department, said all 343 Vietnamese citizens that returned from China’s Taiwan on May 29 tested negative for the coronavirus in their first test.

Their flight landed at Đà Nẵng International Airport in the central city of Đà Nẵng and they were immediately quarantined for 14 days at a police academy in Quảng Nam.

They will be tested for a second time before the completion of their quarantine.

As many as 227 of them were pregnant, including many close to their due dates.

Most of the returnees were manual labourers left unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while some were students and visitors stranded in Taiwan. — VNS