Medical workers look out of the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, New York on Thursday. Elmhurst reported 13 COVID-19 patients died at the hospital in a 24-hour span, according to local officials. The US has had more confirmed coronavirus cases than any other country as of Friday. Photo: AFP

 The Chinese Embassy in the US has launched an online survey to determine how many juvenile Chinese students in the US are seeking to return to China as the embassy would arrange chartered flights to bring them back.

The embassy published the survey notice on its official website on Monday. 

Chinese authorities are planning to open temporary and chartered flights to bring back overseas Chinese students from the US, especially juvenile students, as they could face difficulties amid the pandemic.

More than 90 percent of the over 400,000 Chinese students studying in the US have chosen to stay and continue their studies there, according to the embassy. 

A registration form of intention of underage Chinese students in the US to return home by chartered plane is attached to the notice. 

According to the notice, Chinese elementary and middle school students in the US will be given priority to register in accordance with the principles of openness, transparency and fairness.

Specifically, students aged under 18 without an accompanying parent and studying in the US for a long or short period of time can register.

The embassy noted that they would send these registered students in the order of youngest to oldest back to China based on capacity.

The registered students will voluntarily take on all possible risks during the return journey, and consciously accept quarantine inspections during the flight and after arriving at the destination.

The cost of airfare and quarantine will be borne by students, said the notice.

The students' guardians and other personnel will not be allowed to take the flight, the notice said.

The deadline for registration is 6:00 pm US Eastern Standard Time on April 6 or 6:00 am Beijing Time on April 7.

Three hotlines for consular protection and epidemic assistance were also included in the notice.

The embassy issued a notice on Friday suggesting students thoroughly evaluate the situation before deciding to go back to China. So far, Chinese students studying abroad accounted for 32 percent of total imported coronavirus cases in China, which means the risk of infection during travel is not low, said the advisory. 

Students should not be overly anxious, as the infection rate of Chinese students in the US is low and all the Chinese students there have medical insurance, which can cover medical fees to varying degrees, the embassy posted.

According to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on April 5, the US has reported a total of 304,826 confirmed cases and 7,616 deaths.

Global Times