344 Vietnamese citizens in Singapore return to Vietnam on a repatriation flight

Yesterday (31 May), a total of 344 Vietnamese citizens were repatriated back to their home country from Singapore. This was reported as the second repatriation flight from Singapore since the outbreak of COVID-19 cases here.

The first flight departed on 24 April where more than 200 Vietnamese were brought home.

Flight VN650 landed at the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho airport yesterday afternoon. The passengers onboard included pregnant women, senior citizens, youth under 18, people with illnesses, as well as workers and tourists whose visas had expired.

All the passengers on flight VN650 made health declarations and were taken to centralised quarantine facilities in Can Tho City and the neighbouring provinces of Hau Giang and Vinh Long for 14 days. They will also be screened for COVID-19, as reported by VN Express.

Two days ago on 30 May, Vietnam Airlines also posted a statement on its Facebook page, reminding the passengers on the repatriation flight to follow the details provided.

As of yesterday, Vietnam reported that the nation has gone 45 days without community COVID-19 transmission. A total of 328 cases were reported with zero death case. Of which, 279 cases have recovered, leaving 49 cases still active.

The local press stated that experts have warned that the risk of community transmission in Vietnam remains high as more foreign specialists, highly skilled workers, and Vietnamese citizens who were stranded overseas are permitted to gain entry into the country.

In the past few months, thousands of Vietnamese were allowed to board arranged special flights to return home from various countries such as Canada, France, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, as well as other Southeast Asian countries.

The passengers who wanted to return to Vietnam reportedly paid their own travel fares.