280 stranded Vietnamese brought home from Europe

The Vietnam Airlines flight, departing from France, landed at Van Don Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, with children, students, seniors, sick people, pregnant women, guest workers whose labor contracts had expired, and tourists with expired visas.

They were stuck in Europe as nations hit by the pandemic closed their borders and imposed stringent travel restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

All of them underwent medical checks before boarding and wore face masks throughout the flight.

They submitted health declarations and were quarantined on arrival at Van Don Airport. Their samples have been taken for testing.

Europe has so far recorded over 2.4 million infections and 190,000 deaths, with Russia having the highest number of infections at more than 634,000, followed by the U.K.

Vietnamese authorities earlier organized seven repatriation flights from Europe.

They have brought back over 7,000 people stranded abroad, including from the U.S., Canada, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asian Covid-19 hotspots.

Vietnam has had 355 cases, with the latest patients being repatriates from Kuwait. It currently has 20 active cases.