COVID-19: 11 stranded M'sians in Vienna arrived safely, arrangements being made to bring back those in Uzbekistan

A total of 11 Malaysians who were reported to be stranded in Vienna, Austria, as a result of the travel restrictions imposed to curb the COVID-19 pandemic has safely arrived in Malaysia, says Head of Chancery of Embassy of Malaysia in Vienna, Mohd Yunus Ibrahim.

He said the mission has assisted the group by providing necessary advice, based on confirmed and up-to-date information obtained from the appropriate authorities in Austria.

“The group of 11 Malaysian that was reportedly stranded on March 17 in Vienna, has safely arrived Malaysia at 1425hrs, March 19 via MH0785 from Bangkok.

“The group took Finnair Airways via Helsinki to Bangkok on March 18,” he said via an email reply to Bernama.

Mohd Yunus said as of now, no other Malaysians are reported to be stranded in Austria nor Slovakia.

Meanwhile, in a related development, First Secretary of Embassy of Malaysia in Uzbekistan Aneurin Ignatius said as of March 19, the total number of Malaysians stranded in Uzbekistan is 220 people.

Ignatius said majority of these Malaysians are tourists who were not given enough notice to leave Uzbekistan because of the immediate travel ban instituted by the Government of Uzbekistan on March 16.

“The government of Uzbekistan has announced that they will assist in providing a special chartered flight to send all stranded Malaysians and Singaporeans back to Kuala Lumpur.

“However, thus far, no concrete details have been provided on the date and time of the said chartered flight. The Embassy is engaging at the highest level with the Uzbekistan government to get further information on the said assistance,” said the diplomat.

He also advised family members of the stranded Malaysians in Uzbekistan to remain calm, considering that the situation of COVID-19 in Uzbekistan is still relatively low (23 cases as of March 19).

“The embassy is putting every effort to ensure the safety and comfort of all Malaysians in Uzbekistan,” he said.