Gov't faces growing calls to send more chartered flights

Passengers arriving at Incheon International Airport wait for buses arranged by the government to take them to designated facilities, Wednesday, as all arrivals from abroad are now subject to a two-week preventative quarantine regardless of their nationality or where they departed from amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Jun Ji-hye

The government is facing mounting calls from Korean nationals living in various countries overseas to send more chartered planes to return them to Korea after an increasing number of nations worldwide have sealed their borders and halted flights amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Koreans staying in India, Singapore, Malaysia and Paraguay among other countries have filed petitions in recent days on a presidential office website, asking for the government-chartered evacuation flights.

In one petition, posted Monday, a woman called for a chartered plane to be sent to India, saying her husband, who went on a business trip to Chennai, has been stuck in a hotel there after the Indian government placed the country under a stringent lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Other than my husband, about 900 Korean nationals are in the Chennai region, longing for home,” the woman wrote.

In another petition, also posted Monday, a person living in Singapore said that many Korean nationals in the country had lost jobs after the government there ordered the suspension of operations of restaurants and other facilities.

“It is very difficult for us to pay expensive monthly rents and other expenses in Singapore,” the person wrote, noting that they would become illegal aliens if their work visas expired.

A person living in Malaysia made a similar point in a separate petition, saying the government there ordered people there to stay at home without suggesting any measures to handle those whose visas were about to expire.

“The number of COVID-19 patients has kept increasing in Malaysia, but medical facilities and services are inadequate. Many Korean nationals here badly want to go back home,” the person wrote.

The government has dispatched several chartered planes to cities around the world including the Chinese city of Wuhan, the coronavirus epicenter, to repatriate Korean nationals.

On Wednesday, another government-chartered plane brought home 300 Koreans from Milan, Italy amid growing concerns over their safety in the epicenter of Europe's COVID-19 outbreak.

The plane was one of the two flights that the government arranged to bring about 530 citizens back to Korea. The second flight is expected to return from Rome today, carrying the remaining Korean citizens.

Korea has seen a slight decline in COVID-19 infections with 101 new cases Tuesday, down from 125 the day before, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). The country's total increased to 9,887.

The KCDC noted the death toll rose by three to 165 as of Wednesday.

Infection clusters in medical facilities and churches in Seoul and its surrounding areas, as well as foreign-origin cases, have, however, continued to emerge.

St. Mary's Hospital in Uijeongbu, just north of Seoul, was shut down, Wednesday, following a cluster of more than 10 COVID-19 cases there.

The hospital is carrying out coronavirus tests on all inpatients, medical staff and employees, while conducting disinfection activities.

The hospital said it is planning to resume operating, April 6.