A South Korean government-arranged chartered flight has returned home carrying 198 South Koreans who were stranded in Peru due to border closures.

The plane landed at Incheon International Airport around 6 a.m. Saturday.

Those on board included tourists, residents in Peru, civil servants who were on a business trip and volunteers of the Korea International Cooperation Agency or KOICA.

They were stranded in the South American nation after the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency on March 15 to block the spread of the virus and ordered all citizens to self-isolate at home.

The evacuees will be tested for the coronavirus. If just one out of the 198 people tests positive, all passengers will stay at a temporary quarantine facility for 14 days.

However, none showed fever or other symptoms when they were tested before boarding the flight in Peru.

South Korea has previously evacuated citizens from China, Japan and Iran.

Next week, two flights will be sent to the Italian cities of Milan and Rome to bring home around 580 South Koreans.