URUMQI, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- More than 350 migrant workers from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region departed for other domestic cities to resume work through charter flights Thursday.

The human resources and social security bureau of Xinjiang's Hotan Prefecture said those workers are all from the prefecture, and they will arrive in the city of Nanning, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the city of Jinjiang in eastern Fujian Province, to alleviate the worker shortage there.

The prefecture has conducted physical examinations for those willing to go out for work, issued health certificates and arrange charter flights for free for them, in an effort to lower the risk of infection of the novel coronavirus during the trips.

Ablimit Eli, from Moyu County, worked for a timber company in Guangxi and was paid a monthly salary of 5,400 yuan (about 770 U.S. dollars) in 2019, more than double the income of working in his hometown. He returned to Moyu to visit his family on Jan. 17.

"I learned about the outbreak at the end of January. I thought I couldn't go back to work and was worried about my income. It was beyond my expectation that the government provided such thoughtful services for us. I can now continue working and make money," Ablimit said.

A total of 174 migrant workers from Hotan had flown to central China's Hunan Province for work via a charter flight on Feb. 22.

Another charter flight brought 135 migrant workers from the region's Akqi County to the city of Wuxi, east China's Jiangsu Province on Wednesday.