Nation sends special flights to bring citizens home

China has sent nine chartered planes since March to bring back 1,457 of its nationals, including students, from Iran, Italy and other countries hit hard by the global COVID-19 pandemic, a senior official said.

Speaking at a news conference in Beijing on Thursday, Vice-Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said there are around 1.4 million Chinese students remaining in foreign countries.

While the majority of them chose to stay overseas, China will take necessary measures to help bring back those who really have the need in a gradual and orderly way, and they should follow quarantine measures in China, he said.

According to Tian Xuejun, vice-minister of education, 36 Chinese students abroad have been diagnosed with COVID-19.

They all have received good treatment, and 11 of them have been discharged from the hospital, Tian said.

Ma said Chinese embassies and consulates have 24-hour hotlines for Chinese students overseas, and they have been collecting and distributing health supplies for them.

The Foreign Ministry has sent 500,000 health kits, including more than 11 million face masks, to countries with large numbers of Chinese students, Ma said.

The first shipments of about 300,000 health kits will be transported on April 10 to 46 embassies and consulates in 12 countries－such as Italy, South Korea, France and Germany－and will be distributed to Chinese students, a Civil Aviation Administration official told reporters.

As of Wednesday, the administration had sent 178 chartered flights transferring 100 medical experts and personnel and 2,635 metric tons of epidemic prevention materials, said Lyu Erxue, deputy head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

The flights were to 40 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Italy, Serbia, Japan and South Korea, he said.

Lyu said that the administration has drastically reduced the number of international flights in order to avoid the pandemic being imported to China.

A minimum number of flights are being maintained to meet the needs of Chinese citizens overseas, especially Chinese students in foreign countries, he added.

He said that 47 Chinese and foreign airlines currently have regular flights from China to 61 destinations in 40 countries.

The total number of international flights every week is no more than 134, he said.

China sent a specially chartered plane to the UK on Thursday to bring back about 180 Chinese students, he added.