The first batch of chartered flights to bring Hong Kong people from Hubei to Hong Kong will mainly assist those stranded in Wuhan, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government announced today.

Hong Kong residents who are in Wuhan and have not contacted the Immigration Department’s Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit (AHU) or the Wuhan Economic & Trade Office of the HKSAR should call the (852) 1868 hotline or email the AHU at 1868@immd.gov.hk for registration before 6pm on February 28 to indicate their wish to return.

They should provide the contact person's name, telephone number and current address during the registration.

The cost of the flights will be borne by the Hong Kong SAR Government, and the Wuhan ETO will arrange transport to bring these people to the airport in Wuhan.

The people who take the chartered flights must be Hong Kong identity card holders.

Health screenings will be conducted for each passenger before boarding. Those with fever, abnormal vital signs, respiratory tract symptoms or other signs of infectious diseases will not be allowed on the plane.

While the HKSAR Government will take measures to minimise the risk of cross-infection, it will be unavoidable for the people to travel from their residential places in Wuhan to the airport and take the flights back to Hong Kong in groups.

Hong Kong residents who wish to take the chartered flights should be aware of the potential risks and consider their health condition in deciding whether they are fit for travel.

Taking into consideration the potential public health risk, those concerned will be quarantined for 14 days upon arriving in Hong Kong.

For Hong Kong residents in other areas of Hubei, there are individual cases which have relatively urgent needs, such as pregnant women, those with serious illnesses and urgently in need of surgery or other medical treatments in Hong Kong as well as secondary school graduates who need to take the Diploma of Secondary Education Examination in Hong Kong.

The HKSAR Government will discuss with the Hubei Government and relevant local departments to arrange for them to take the first batch of chartered flights back to Hong Kong, as well as seek medical advice on whether they are fit for travel.

As for Hong Kong residents who are in other areas of Hubei without urgent needs, the HKSAR Government will further discuss with the Hubei Government and arrange for their return to Hong Kong in stages.

After obtaining the number of assistance cases, the HKSAR Government will consider all factors, including the operational details and the arrangement for receiving cases by quarantine facilities in working out the number of chartered flights and passengers to be carried by the first-batch of flights.

As of 11am, the HKSAR Government received over 1,700 requests for assistance by Hong Kong people in Hubei, involving more than 3,000 people in 37 cities in the province. Among them, 532 are in Wuhan.