At least 16 South Africans, who were stranded in Dubai and Doha, respectively, have been successfully repatriated.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said the group arrived in South Africa on Thursday, 2 April 2020. Their return follows the relaxation of the State of Disaster regulations to allow South Africans stranded abroad to travel back home.
The group is currently under quarantine, as per the regulations.
South Africa is currently under a 21-day lockdown in a bid to curtail the spread of Coronavirus.
Another group of about 16 citizens stranded in Germany is expected to return from Frankfurt over the weekend.
With more countries requesting to repatriate their citizens from South Africa, the department will be using the opportunity to bring back more South Africans using the chartered flights.
To date, the country’s Missions and the Command Centre in Pretoria have registered a total of 2 313 South Africans stranded abroad due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The outbreak has led to many countries closing their borders.
Of the 2 313 citizens, 726 are students, 600 are workers, 492 are tourists, while a further 495 have not disclosed their designation.
In line with Minister Naledi Pandor’s instructions, the department is prioritizing those who are stuck at airports, students who have been asked to vacate their residences, the elderly and the sick.
“The department wishes to assure all the South African citizens stranded abroad that it empathises with their plight and is doing whatever it can to assist them to be safe, as comfortable as possible and to travel back to South Africa,” said DIRCO. - SAnews.gov.za
