Hong Kong to bring home residents stranded in Nepal due to COVID-19 pandemic

China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government announced Sunday that two special flights will be arranged to bring Hong Kong residents stranded in Nepal due to COVID-19 pandemic back home.

The special flights, carrying about 330 passengers, are tentatively scheduled to depart Kathmandu on Monday (June 1).

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, the returnees will proceed to the Temporary Specimen Collection Center of the HKSAR government's Department of Health for compulsory COVID-19 testing. They will then be transferred to the quarantine center for a 14-day compulsory quarantine period.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nepal has imposed strict restrictions on all land and air traffic since late March, preventing Hong Kong residents from arranging flights to leave Nepal on their own.

As at May 30, the Immigration Department of the HKSAR government received assistance requests from about 1,300 Hong Kong residents stranded in Nepal. Most of them are currently located in Bagmati and Gandaki provinces in the central part of Nepal.

The HKSAR government said it will continue to liaise with the Consulate-General of Nepal in Hong Kong and airlines to arrange other special flights to help stranded Hong Kong residents return home in batches.