The Chinese Embassy in the UK is asking Chinese nationals who are minors and in urgent need of repatriation to reach out, according to a notice on the embassy's website on April 7. 

According to the notice, minors aged between 5 and 18 years old, with unaccompanied parents in the UK, host family guardians who are too old to take care of them, or who have studied in the UK for a long or short period can return home.

It also warned returning students that they would have to bear all the possible risks in the process of returning home, and consciously accept the flight process and the quarantine arrangements after arriving in China.

In principle, minors should travel alone, and their parents or guardians in the UK cannot travel with them, the notice said.

The notice also mentioned some precautions for epidemic prevention for students including encouraging students to stay home. COVID-19 has been identified in a number of flights recently, resulting in a large number of passengers and crew being quarantined. Because the cabin space is closed and crowded, the risk of cross-infection is very high. If there is no special emergency, it is recommended to avoid the risk of returning home.

Secondly, the cost of a temporary flight ticket and quarantine period after returning home should be borne by the students themselves. At present, the price for an economy class ticket from London to China ranges from 30,000-40,000 yuan (3,460-4,600 British pounds). Domestic local government COVID-19 testing, isolation, and accommodation cost about 10,000 yuan (1,152 British pounds) per person.

Those who have had a cough or fever in the past 14 days or had close contact with COVID-19 patients should not book or take flights, the notice said. If the passenger's body temperature exceeds (including) 37.3 degrees Celsius before boarding or if the passenger has suspected symptoms, boarding will be denied by the airline.

Strict quarantine inspection will be carried out at the port of entry of the flight. Passengers who have concealed their illness and exposure history or who have taken antipyretic and other inhibitory drugs during the quarantine inspection will be prosecuted for crimes of endangering public safety.

Eligible underage students and their parents need to log on to the Chinese Embassy in the UK website to register relevant information. Registration closes at 18:00 GMT on April 7 (1:00 a.m. BJT on April 8).

Recently, in order to protect the rights of overseas Chinese students, Chinese embassies around the world have issued relevant notices and investigations.

On Monday, the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. issued a notice stating that priority will be given to young students for chartered flights back to China.