The Pentagon approved the use of several bases as quarantine centers.

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Saturday approved a request from the Department of Health and Human Services for the possible use of military facilities to accommodate 1,000 people who might have to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas because of a new virus.

A Defense Department statement said HHS officials requested the use of several facilities capable of housing at least 250 people in individual rooms through Feb. 29. HHS would be responsible for all care, transportation and security of the evacuees, according to the statement.

An order signed Friday by President Donald Trump temporarily bars entry to foreign nationals who have traveled within the last 14 days to China, where the viral outbreak began, with the exception of immediate family of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Americans returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be subject to up to 14 days of mandatory quarantine.

The installations selected by the Pentagon are the 168th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, Fort Carson, Colorado; Travis Air Force Base, California; Lackland Air Force Base, Texas; and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California.

Nearly 200 Americans already are quarantined at a military base in Southern California after being evacuated from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province. They have not shown signs of illness, but it can take up to two weeks for someone who is infected to get sick.