Vietnamese authorities are working closely with their Uzbek counterparts to arrange a special flight, ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said on Thursday.

The workers, who work for China Petroleum Jili Chemical Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd (JCC) in Qarshi City recently wrote to the Vietnamese embassy in Russia seeking help.

Their work has been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, and they are quarantined in their living quarters.

The ministry said some of them tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

More than 21,000 people have been brought home from 50 countries and territories on 80 flights since Vietnam started repatriating its citizens stranded abroad on April 10, according to the ministry.

The government will bring home more Vietnamese citizens, depending on the pandemic situation and the country’s quarantine capacity since it has been dealing with a new wave of Covid-19 that has infected 298 people since July 25.

Vietnam has had 750 cases of whom 392 have recovered, 10 died and 348 are in hospital.