Inside the flight bringing Vietnamese citizens from Wuhan back home
All seats are covered in nylon, the flight crew wears two layers of protective gear. 30 Vietnamese citizens are given health checks before and during the flight.
Vietnam Airlines flight HVN68 departed at 9:00 p.m. on February 9 from Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi) carrying medical supplies and equipment worth 500,000 USD donated by the Vietnamese Government and people to the Chinese Government and people. The plane then picked up 30 Vietnamese citizens from Wuhan City, Hubei Province to return home.
The 15 crew members were selected from nearly 100 pilots and flight attendants who volunteered to sign up. They are all experienced and able to communicate in Chinese.
In addition to the flight crew, the airline also arranged three medical staff, including an obstetrician, to take care of a 36-week pregnant passenger. Vietnam Airlines has equipped the flight crew and doctors with special medical protective gear. Each person wears two layers of protective clothing, masks, and gloves to prevent the Corona virus.
Pilots wear protective gear like flight attendants, although they rarely leave the cockpit.
In addition to the boxes placed in the luggage compartment, many boxes are medical equipment that is brought into the passenger compartment to avoid damage.
All seats are covered with nylon to limit the spread of the virus. Spare parts and supplies are also brought on board by the airline to deal with any technical issues that may arise.
The plane landed at Wuhan airport at 1:00 a.m. on February 10 (local time). At that time, 30 Vietnamese citizens had departed from Wuhan airport, wearing protective clothing before boarding the plane to return home.
All passengers and crew were screened before boarding the plane. The 30 Vietnamese citizens are international students, tourists, businessmen... living and working in Wuhan.
Accompanying the flight were a doctor from the Central Maternity Hospital, a doctor and a nurse from the Central Tropical Hospital.
They are responsible for taking care of pregnant women and regularly checking the health of passengers returning from Wuhan, where the nCoV outbreak occurred.
The plane landed at Van Don Airport (Quang Ninh) at 5am on February 10, then was completely disinfected and stopped operating for 24 hours to prevent the risk of nCoV infection. The entire flight crew and doctors on the flight were quarantined for 14 days as prescribed.
Passengers go through immigration procedures, customs checks with carry-on and checked baggage, then quarantine and monitor their health for 14 days.
As of February 10, the coronavirus pneumonia epidemic has claimed 910 lives and infected more than 40,000 people, mostly in China. Vietnam has recorded 14 cases of infection, 6 of which have been cured and discharged from hospital.