US students to be released from China quarantine

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-18 15:00

BEIJING -- Dozens of American high school students quarantined in a central Chinese city after some of their classmates were diagnosed with A(H1N1) flu have been cleared for release, an employee of the city's flu command center said Thursday.

Thirty-five students and teachers quarantined at the Ruihao Hotel in Yichang city were to go to Shanghai later Thursday, said the employee, who would only give his surname Chen. A hotel receptionist who declined to give her name confirmed that the group would be leaving.

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The other seven in the group from the private Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, California, tested positive for A(H1N1) flu and were hospitalized in stable condition. Chen said one of the seven, a 15-year-old boy from Chinese Taiwan, had recovered and will be picked up by his father Thursday.

The Americans could not be reached by phone, and the US Embassy in Beijing had no immediate comment about the group.

In South Korea, the Health Ministry said Thursday that an Australian lacrosse team was released after a five-day quarantine, put in place after a player tested positive on arrival in the country.

The American students, who left for China on June 2, visited Beijing and Xi'an and embarked on a river cruise to the Three Gorges Dam when a handful of students and one teacher started feeling sick. When the boat docked, they were taken to a nearby hospital.

The total number of flu cases on the mainland rose to 264, but no deaths have occurred, the Health Ministry said.

China plans to conduct regular health checks at schools, nurseries, homes for the aged and construction sites in the event of a flu outbreak at the community level, according to a new work plan released Wednesday. Further steps in a worsening outbreak include shutting schools, nurseries and entertainment venues and canceling large gatherings.

The virus continued to spread across the region.

Thailand has confirmed 113 new cases of A(H1N1) flu, bringing the country's total to 518 cases, officials said Thursday.

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nop-amornbodi said nearly two-thirds of the cases were in Bangkok, the capital, and the majority of the cases nationwide were students.

On Wednesday, 23 schools in Bangkok were temporarily closed for disinfecting.

Manit said cases have been found at 59 schools and one university nationwide since May.

Prat Boonyavongvirot, the Thai health ministry's permanent secretary, said most patients have fully recovered and less than a dozen are still being treated. None is in critical condition.

New Zealand's flu count rose to 153 Thursday, adding 26 new cases. A state-run prison in the capital, Wellington, had 50 inmates in quarantine after three in the low-security unit were isolated with suspected cases.

The World Health Organization has warned countries to prepare for a second wave of infections once their outbreaks have peaked, saying the virus could mutate.