Fijian citizen dies on chartered Garuda Indonesia flight, stoking COVID-19 fears

A Fijian citizen died on board chartered international flight GA 8820 operated by Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday, raising concerns over the safety of other passengers and crew members due to the current COVID-19 crisis. The passenger passed away after experiencing breathing difficulties midway through the New Delhi-Batam-Merauke-Fiji flight, which departed at 9:45 p.m. local time on Tuesday with 112 Fijians due for repatriation from India, Garuda Indonesia president director Irfan Setiaputra said. Crew members had assisted the distressed passenger by providing them with an oxygen mask, he said. “Prior to the flight, the passenger in question had [provided a swab sample] for a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] test, the result of which came back negative for COVID-19,” Irfan said. He went on to say that the body of the Fijian national was recovered during a stopover at Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands, in accordance with the existing COVID-19 protocol. Hang Nadim Airport director Suwarso said that 13 flight crew members were subsequently removed from the plane and put into quarantine at a COVID-19 hospital on Galang Island to minimize the risk of coronavirus infection among the passengers. The flight then resumed its course from Batam with a new crew.<br/>