A charter flight carrying 114 Taiwan nationals and 15 foreign residents who had been stranded in India and Bangladesh since the coronavirus outbreak struck the South Asian countries two months ago touched down May 5 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
All passengers completed and signed health declaration and quarantine notification forms on arrival before being dispatched to two facilities in central Taiwan for mandatory 14-day quarantines. Of these, nine individuals were tested for coronavirus after reporting respiratory symptoms occurring within the previous two weeks.
Organized by Taipei City-based World Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flight was operated by Taoyuan City-headquartered China Airlines.
In a statement, the MOFA thanked India and Bangladesh for their assistance in arranging the flight, adding the government will continue working to repatriate other Taiwan nationals stranded in South Asia due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Latest statistics from the Central Epidemic Command Center reveal 438 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Taiwan as of May 5, with six deaths. A total of 3,615,871 cases have been identified in 185 other countries and territories. (YCH-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw