Government: "173 Indian residents to return on 4th, 221 on 7th via special flights"

250,000 doses (500,000 shots) of the U.S. Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for vaccination of seniors aged 75 and older and residents and workers of elderly care facilities arrived at Incheon International Airport Cargo Terminal on the 31st of last month. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] As COVID-19 spreads rapidly in India, Korean residents staying there will return to Korea on special flights on the 4th and 7th of this month.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 2nd, the expected number of returnees on these special flights is 173 on the 4th and 221 on the 7th. The flights will be operated by an Indian airline and Asiana Airlines, respectively.

The government suspended flights between Korea and India starting from the 24th of last month to block the variant virus originating from India. However, flights carrying Korean residents returning to the country were exceptionally permitted to operate.

According to the overseas arrivals testing and quarantine guidelines of the Central Accident Response Headquarters (CARH), overseas arrivals from major variant virus outbreak areas such as India, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Africa are quarantined at government facilities for one night and two days immediately upon arrival in Korea, and if they test 'negative' on the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, they move to self-quarantine at their residence or a quarantine location arranged by themselves.

Son Youngrae, head of the CARH Social Strategy Division, stated at a briefing that the Indian residents arriving this time "will go through the procedures of entering the country while thoroughly managing quarantine."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.