The government today finalized four places to quarantine citizens who will be evacuated from China in view of the latest outbreak of novel coronavirus.

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli directed the concerned officials to keep the returnees in Shivapur and Ichangunarayan of Kathmandu, and Kharipati and Suryabinayak of Bhaktapur, according to his press advisor Surya Thapa.

Locals of some of these places, however, have been protesting in front of Nepal Electricity Authority Training Centre, Bhaktapur, and Changunarayan ward office demanding that the places not be used to quarantine Nepalis returning from China.

At least 180 Nepalis have filed applications at the Nepali Embassy in Beijing requesting evacuation.

During today’s meeting, PM Oli also directed officials concerned to stay prepared to protect Nepalis from contracting the virus.

The government also decided to provide 100,000 protective masks to China to help it cope with the crisis.

Meanwhile, around 30 families of students pursuing their higher education in China today reached the Ministry of Health and demanded that their children be evacuated from Hubei at the earliest.

They said their children had been in a lockdown in China and that they didn’t even have food to eat.