Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is taking care of its residents who were stranded far away in tropical Hainan province by COVID-19. The city chartered a special flight on Thursday to bring them home.

The first group of 228 tourists arrived in Nanjing around 5 am and will be quarantined for three days in designated hotels, followed by four days at home. They were among an estimated 80,000 tourists in Hainan's coastal resort city of Sanya who were unable to leave.

The tourists will stay free at the hotels. Any Nanjing resident stranded in Sanya can call a city government hotline for help, according to the team formed to help the tourists get home.

Similar teams have been formed in Jiangsu cities, including Suzhou and Wuxi. The Wuxi government said it will bring stranded residents home on a chartered flight soon.