Nearly 700 South Koreans residing in the Chinese city of Wuhan have applied for a chartered flight to be arranged by the Seoul government to evacuate its nationals from the epicenter of a new coronavirus. 

The South Korean Consulate General in Wuhan said on Tuesday that 693 South Korean nationals applied for the flight while posting the list of applicants on its homepage.

The consulate general, however, added that this is not the final list of passengers for the flight.  

The government will send the chartered flight to Wuhan as early as Thursday to bring South Korean nationals home. 

In line with Chinese government policy, Chinese nationals cannot take the flight, even if they are family members of South Koreans. 

People who have symptoms of the virus also cannot take the flight and will be placed under quarantine in Wuhan by the Chinese government.