HONG KONG – The first chartered flight arranged by the government to bring back Hong Kong residents stranded in Hubei province, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, is expected to take off as early as Wednesday.

The first group to be evacuated will include those stranded in hardest-hit Wuhan, the provincial capital, together with those in other Hubei cities with urgent needs for evacuation, such as pregnant women and patients with chronic diseases.

Six Cathay Dragon flights have been chartered for the evacuation.

READ MORE: Govt 'proactively' working on bringing back residents in Hubei

Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said on Saturday night on his social media account that officials from Immigration Department and Health Department have been verifying details of over 600 registered Hong Kong residents stranded in Wuhan.

Chartered flights will repatriate only Hong Kong ID card holders with no symptoms of fever and respiratory or infectious diseases

Regarding those with urgent needs in other cities of Hubei province, the secretary said officials have to review their health conditions to assess if they are suitable to board the flights. They also have to take into account the feasibility for those stranded in other cities in Hubei to travel to the airport in Wuhan, he added. 

Nip said the officials will confirm the number of residents to be taken back to Hong Kong as soon as possible.

According to a government statement, the flights will only accept Hong Kong ID card holders with no symptoms of fever and respiratory or infectious diseases.

The Hubei provincial government will also help to ensure that neither confirmed patients nor their close contacts will be included in the evacuation list, he added.

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The evacuation plan to bring home residents stranded in Hubei was announced on Feb 24 and registration of the eligible ones continued till 6pm Friday.

Upon their arrival in Hong Kong, the evacuees will be quarantined at designated centers for 14 days.

As of Feb 24, Hong Kong government said it had received 2,700 calls for help from Hong Kong people in Hubei province. At least 10 Hong Kong people in Hubei are known to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. 

Contact the writer at zhaoruinan@chinadaily.com.cn