The Vietnam Airlines aircraft left the Polish capital Warsaw with passengers who had been stuck in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, countries hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and with stringent travel restrictions.

They underwent medical checks before boarding and were quarantined on arrival. Their samples have been taken for testing.

Europe is a global Covid-19 hotspot with over 2.7 million infections and 199,749 deaths so far.

In the last few months Vietnam has repatriated over 2,000 of its citizens from the continent.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said at a press briefing on Thursday that 13,323 Vietnamese have been brought back on 55 flights since April 10.

Dinh Viet Thang, head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, said 50 more flights would bring over 13,000 Vietnamese citizens home by the end of next month.

Authorities have warned that community infection could return to Vietnam with the repatriation of its citizens and the entry of foreign specialists and highly skilled workers.

Vietnam has reported 401 Covid-19 infections, including 36 active cases, all of whom are foreigners and Vietnamese repatriates quarantined upon arrival. The country has not reported community transmission of the disease for more than three months now.

Nguyen Quy