BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's aviation authority has approved chartered flights to bring home from overseas trips some residents of the central city of Wuhan, the site of an epidemic caused by a new virus, state television said on Thursday (Jan 30).

Domestic and international airlines have cancelled flights between Wuhan and overseas cities since Jan 23, in a bid to prevent the spread of the virus.

The aviation authority also asked the airlines not to stop healthy Wuhan residents from boarding flights.

Plans to isolate hundreds of evacuated foreigners varied among countries. Australia, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand will quarantine all evacuees, regardless of whether they showed symptoms, for at least two weeks, while the United States and Japan were planning voluntary isolation for shorter periods.

Two returnees from Japan tested positive for the virus in Tokyo on Thursday although they showed no symptoms, explaining why some countries are planning extreme quarantine measures for the entire incubation period of up to 14 days.

Indonesia said on Thursday it is preparing to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan and will quarantine them for at least 14 days on arrival, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said.

Ms Retno said the government is working with Beijing authorities on the evacuation. She said that there were at least 243 Indonesians in areas in lockdown. The majority of them are in Wuhan.