Seoul, May 4 (IANS): At least 172 South Koreans arrived in the country on Tuesday from the Covid-battered India via a special flight, according to Yonhap news agency.

The flight, carrying Hyundai Motor employees, their families and students, landed at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, at about 10.17 a.m., after departing from Chennai International Airport, reports Xinhua news agency.

Since April 24, South Korea has halted direct flights from such countries as India, where Covid-19 variants spread, allowing only non-regular flights to carry South Korean nationals back home.

Over 200 South Korean people are scheduled to return home Friday from India.

The entrants are required to take a diagnostic test right after arriving here, and to be quarantined in the government-designated facilities for seven days if they test negative.

They will move to residential places for another seven-day self-isolation if they test negative in the second diagnosis.

They will be completely freed from the two-week isolation after passing the third virus test.

South Korea reported 541 more Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the total number of infections to 124,269.

Among the new cases, 27 were imported from overseas, lifting the combined figure to 8,427.