The People’s Committee of Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam has approved the resumption of procedures for handling repatriation flights carrying overseas Vietnamese returnees to its Cam Ranh International Airport after a three-month hiatus.

The approval announced on Friday afternoon allows enterprises to register for organizing international flights to the airport to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from overseas.

The provincial authorities are considering receiving 16 repatriation flights this month, equivalent to four flights per week.

Each qualified enterprise or organization can conduct a maximum of four flights in the month, depending on the COVID-19 situation in the province and the local quarantine capacity.

Repatriates will be quarantined at centralized facilities far away from residential areas.

Enterprises and organizations that conduct such repatriation flights are responsible for preparing vehicles to transport returnees to their homes in accordance with applicable regulations after they complete compulsory quarantine.

In March, the provincial People’s Committee also allowed Cam Ranh International Airport to receive inbound repatriation flights.

Following the emergence of the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam in late April, in which Khanh Hoa has recorded 8,152 local cases, the provincial authorities have suspended the operations of those flights since mid-July.

Vietnam has found 827,033 community transmissions in 62 out of its 63 provinces and cities in this fourth – and worst – virus wave.

Ho Chi Minh City has been hit the hardest with 407,399 patients, followed by Binh Duong Province with 220,480, Dong Nai Province with 53,752, Long An Province with 33,092, Tien Giang Province with 14,433, Dong Thap Province with 8,539, and Khanh Hoa Province.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first struck the country early last year, the national tally has reached 831,643 patients, including 759,482 recoveries and 20,337 deaths.

Vietnam closed its borders and canceled all international flights in March last year. 

Only Vietnamese repatriates, foreign experts, diplomats, investors, highly-skilled workers, and students are allowed to enter the Southeast Asian country, with stringent quarantine requirements in place.

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