Some 5,000 foreign nationals return home during lockdown

Though the government has closed international flights due to lockdown pointing out the risk of COVID-19, some 5,000 foreign nationals have returned home during the lockdown period.

Four thousand and 874 foreign nationals have returned their respective countries till Saturday from ‘chartered flight’. Although the government had imposed lockdown from March 24, it had decided that foreign countries could take its citizens from chartered flight.

More than 60 countries have taken their nationals to their respective countries from 51 special flights during the period, according to the Immigration Department. The foreign countries had rescued its nationals came to visit Nepal and stocked due to lockdown, employees of diplomatic missions of different countries, donor agencies and staffs of different project of development partnership.

Director at the Department, Ram Chandra Tiwari, said that United Kingdom had rescued highest number of its nationals during the period which stands at 666.

Similarly, Germany rescued its 656 nationals, America 535 citizens, France 425, Canada 322, Australia 236, Netherlands 176, South Korea 163, Japan 162. Likewise, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Poland, Austria, New Zealand, China, Singapore, Bangladesh, Maldives, Africa, Mexico, Norway, Portugal , India, among other countries also rescued their nationals.