| Quarantined People "Seem Healthy"
Beijing authorities quarantined 264 people, including 70 foreigners, after the first A/H1N1 case was confirmed on the mainland, officials said Monday.
A total of 161 people, including 61 foreigners, were placed under medical observation as of 9 pm last night at Beijing's Guomen Hotel, according to Yu Debin, deputy chief of Beijing municipal tourism bureau.
Foreigners quarantined at the hotel are from the United States, Japan, France, Canada, the United Kingdom and Kenya, Yu said.
The rest of those quarantined in the capital, including nine foreigners, are staying at the Hanglu Hotel, a stone's throw from the Beijing International Airport, where the man, surnamed Bao, confirmed to be carrying the flu spent a night before flying to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, on Saturday, Deng Ying, chief of the Beijing Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, told a press briefing Monday afternoon.
The Guomen Hotel, located between the northeast fourth and fifth ring roads, has been asked to host travelers quarantined amid the H1N1 flu outbreak.
The condition of all the quarantined travelers is "normal" and the authorities have provided experienced doctors with adequate foreign language skills, officials said.
Eight English-speaking doctors were also transferred from Beijing's Ditan Hospital to the hotels on Sunday night, said Yu.
"Those under quarantine are staying alone in the rooms. However, we are allowing children to stay with their parents," Yu said.
The kitchen staff at the hotel prepare eight hot dishes, four kinds of staple food and at least two nutritious soups for each meal.
According to officials, the hotel staff are trying to make the visitors' stay as comfortable as possible.
"They (the staff) prepared a comfortable baby bed for an 8-year-old boy from the US, and bought toys for other two kids from France and China," said Yu. "Such care will help us better observe them medically."
A Japanese guest, who was staying at the hotel, voluntarily returned for quarantine from the airport. So did a French man, traveling with his wife and kid, on hearing the news, said Yu.
"All foreign and domestic guests are cooperating with the measures and are impressed with the way we are dealing with the situation," Yu said.
Deng said the local government had attached great importance to flu control and prevention in the capital and there was "no need to panic".
"The biggest challenge is to collect as much information as possible to track all the people that have had close contact with Mr. Bao," Deng said.
Authorities sent text messages to mobile phones nationwide Monday afternoon asking all those aboard Northwest Airlines flight NW029 from Tokyo to Beijing on Friday and Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8882 from Beijing to Chengdu on Saturday to report to the center.
Local hotlines are 64407013 and 12320.
Source: China Daily | 
