Customers wearing face masks leave a Costco store in Vancouver, Canada, May 4, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese authorities are planning to fly temporary and chartered flights to repatriate Chinese students stricken in dire situations and stranded in Canada, according to a notice issued by the Chinese Embassy in Canada on its WeChat account.

The notice pointed out the arrangement is aimed particularly at school graduates whose visas are about to expire, Chinese nationals under the age of 18 without an accompanying parent, and other students in severe difficulties. The notice added that due to the high risk of cross-infection during long-haul flights, students without urgent needs to return home are not recommended to register and take a flight back home.

The registered students will bear exposure risks during their return journey, and they will consensually accept temperature screening and health inspections during flights, and after arriving at the destination, the notice stated adding that the students will bear the cost of airfare and subsequent quarantines.

The embassy also noted that confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases, their close contacts, and students with symptoms, including a fever and cough in the last 14 days are not allowed to take the flights. Concealing illness and exposure history will be deemed as an act of endangering public safety, the notice read.

According to Canadian media reports, the number of coronavirus cases in the country surpassed 66,000, with a death toll exceeding 4,500 as of Friday.

More than 140,000 Chinese students went to study in Canada in 2019, accounting for 22 percent of overseas students in the country, according to recent data from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Global Times