Swiss take aid to Africa as part of Covid repatriation flights

Switzerland has delivered humanitarian supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo before repatriating tourists stranded in central Africa due to the coronavirus pandemic.

On board the plane which flew to Kinshasa on Monday were 1.3 tonnes of medical goods as well as representatives of non-governmental organisations, according to Hans-Peter Lenz of the Swiss foreign ministry’s crisis unit.

Some 200 passengers were then flown back to Switzerland following a major effort by the Swiss embassy in Kinshasa to organise special permits, Lenz told a news conference on Tuesday.

So far, the government has repatriated more than 5,000 Swiss citizens as part of a historic operation to return stranded tourists from locations around the world over the past three weeks.

Additional flights are scheduled later this and next week from Ukraine and Montenegro as well as from destinations in Asia and Latin America.

Read more via Swissinfo

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