HÀ NỘI — A specially-arranged Vietnam Airlines flight bringing home 219 stranded Vietnamese citizens in Equatorial Guinea, nearly half of them confirmed COVID-19 positive, landed at Nội Bài International Airport in Hà Nội at around 3pm on Wednesday.

The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnamese Embassy in Angola (which is also in charge of Equatorial Guinea), the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines together with relevant agencies of Equatorial Guinea.

The aircraft departed from Hà Nội at 7am on Tuesday and landed at Bata Airport after 12 hours in flight. It stayed at the airport for about two hours before returning home.

Doctors and nurses of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases joined the crew to the African nation to ensure passengers’ health during the journey.

Crew members were equipped with special protective clothing while separate zones and air purifiers were set up onboard.

The aircraft landed at Nội Bài International Airport at around 3pm on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photos Thành Đạt

Right after landing at the airport, all the crew members, doctors and passengers of the flight were taken to the National Hospital for Tropical Disease Campus No.2 in Hà Nội's Đông Anh District for quarantine and treatment. All patients who are being treated at the hospital have been moved to other medical establishments. 

All crew members, doctors and passengers of the flight were taken to the National Hospital for Tropical Disease Campus No.2 in Hà Nội's Đông Anh District for quarantine and treatment.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc earlier requested that Vietnamese workers in Equatorial Guinea be brought home immediately.

Since the first days of the pandemic, the Government leader has ordered flights to repatriate overseas Vietnamese citizens, and asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese embassies and representative offices abroad to do their utmost in citizen protection.

According to Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thanh, 16 of the 219 Vietnamese labourers in the host country tested positive for the coronavirus and 20 were suspected to have the virus late June. They have been quarantined and treated in line with local regulations.

The number of infections among the Vietnamese guest workers rose to 112 in early July. — VNS

Health workers spray disinfectants on the repatriated citizens before they were admitted to the National Hospital for Tropical Disease Campus No.2 in Hà Nội's outlying district of Đông Anh. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết

The emergency unit at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases Campus No.2 — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Quyết