Air New Zealand will be evacuating New Zealanders out of Wuhan - the epicentre of the deadly coronavirus - on a government chartered flight.
The government has been in talks with both Australia and the United States about evacuation plans but New Zealand will go it alone - chartering a 300-seat aircraft.
Since Wednesday the number of New Zealanders registered has more than tripled.
However getting the plane in and out of Wuhan is dependent on getting permission from the Chinese government.
RNZ political editor Jane Patterson has the details.