Hong Kong residents head to register to board a chartered flight back to Hong Kong. At Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, Hubei province, March 4, 2020. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - A total of 244 Hong Kong residents have returned from Hubei province through two government-chartered flights on Wednesday.

In drizzling rain, 109 Hong Kong residents evacuated from different cities in Hubei province amid the novel coronavirus outbreak finally returned home as the first flight chartered by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government touched down at Hong Kong International Airport at 4:55 pm.

To minimize the risk of infection, the passengers had been asked to wear masks and protective gear throughout the journey and their body temperatures had been checked multiple times

Dressed in protection gear and face masks provided by the SAR region government, the passengers, including a child, seemed at ease as they disembarked from the Cathay Dragon plane.

The second flight chartered by the government carrying another 135 Hong Kong residents arrived in the city at 9:47 pm.  

Due to a large number of passengers from across the province, including those with special needs and serious disease, the second flight, originally scheduled to depart at 6:30 pm, was delayed for 1.5 hours.

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Two hundred among the 244 returnees are from Wuhan, with another 44 residents returned from over 20 different cities or districts across Hubei province with emergencies, such as urgent medical needs, or DSE candidates.

Three people failed to board for having a fever, said Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen, who was on the second flight from Wuhan, in a press briefing at the Hong Kong International Airport upon arrival.

All passengers were sent to Chun Yeung Estate in Fo Tan for a 14-day mandatory quarantine upon arrival in Hong Kong. 

To minimize the risk of infection, the passengers had been asked to wear masks and protective gear throughout the journey and their body temperatures had been checked multiple times. The passengers have been asked to disinfect their belongings and take showers after checking into the quarantine center, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said. 

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Hong Kong residents register with staff members from Hong Kong's Immigration Department before boarding a chartered flight back home. At Wuhan Tianhe International Airport in Wuhan, Hubei province, March 4, 2020. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Three people failed to board for having a fever, said Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip Tak-kuen in a press briefing at the Hong Kong International Airport upon arrival on the second flight.

Nip and Director of Immigration Tsang Kwok-wai were leading a government team in charge of facilitating the evacuation. They flew out to personally escort home Wednesday’s batch.

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The government announced on Tuesday that it has chartered four flights to bring home 533 Hong Kong residents who are now in Hubei province and had sought assistance. Two more chartered flights will be sent Thursday . 

According to Nip, there are around 3,800 Hong Kong residents living in 37 different cities in the province.