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Hong Kong 'flu' hotel guests free Hong Kong 'flu' hotel guests free
(about 2 hours later)
Nearly 300 guests and staff at a hotel in Hong Kong have been released after being held in quarantine for a week due to a feared outbreak of swine flu.Nearly 300 guests and staff at a hotel in Hong Kong have been released after being held in quarantine for a week due to a feared outbreak of swine flu.
All were given health checks before being allowed out. Streets were blocked off to allow them to leave without facing a media scrum. All were given health checks before leaving the Metropark Hotel. They were isolated after a Mexican traveller carrying the virus stayed in the hotel.
Guests of the Metropark Hotel were isolated after a Mexican traveller who was carrying the virus stayed there. Meanwhile, Mexico raised its flu death toll to 45, but the health minister said the virus was on the wane.
The unidentified man was also released from a Hong Kong hospital on Friday. The number of confirmed infections in the US has nearly doubled to 1,639.
Officials had apologised to those held, but said it was in the public interest. Two people have died in the US.
On Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said 2,384 confirmed cases of swine flu, or influenza A(H1N1) had been reported by 24 countries around the world. A spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dave Daigle, said the cases had been registered in 43 states, according to the AFP news agency.
It said nearly half of all cases were in Mexico, where the confirmed death toll stood at 42. Two more people have died in the US. He said he expected to find confirmed cases in all 50 US states because there were now more testing facilities in America. But he stressed that the epidemic was not speeding up.
The WHO said it was not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of swine flu. I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people! South Korean guest released from Metropark Hotel
In Mexico City, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the country's swine flu death toll now stood at 45, but one more fatality was not a new infection.
Mr Cordova also said the number of confirmed cases across the country rose by 159 to 1,319.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of swine flu.
Speaking in Bangkok, WHO chief Margaret Chan said that "the world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history".Speaking in Bangkok, WHO chief Margaret Chan said that "the world is better prepared for an influenza pandemic than at any time in history".
'Breathe easily''Breathe easily'
Hotel guests cheered and waived to bystanders as they walked out of the Metropark Hotel on Friday.Hotel guests cheered and waived to bystanders as they walked out of the Metropark Hotel on Friday.
We have been successful in our effort to prevent the spread of the virus, but this doesn't mean that we can relax our guard York ChowHong Kong Health Secretary UK swine flu genetics unravelled We have been successful in our effort to prevent the spread of the virus, but this doesn't mean that we can relax our guard York ChowHong Kong Health Secretary UK swine flu genetics unravelled
"I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people!" a South Korean businessman, who did not give his name, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press."I'm happy! I love Hong Kong people!" a South Korean businessman, who did not give his name, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
The unidentified Mexican man was also released from a Hong Kong hospital on Friday.
Hong Kong officials earlier apologised to those held, but said it was in the public interest.
Hong Kong's Health Secretary York Chow said: "I am sure everyone feels... that Hong Kong has passed its first test and we can breathe more easily."Hong Kong's Health Secretary York Chow said: "I am sure everyone feels... that Hong Kong has passed its first test and we can breathe more easily."
"We have been successful in our effort to prevent the spread of the virus, but this doesn't mean that we can relax our guard," he added."We have been successful in our effort to prevent the spread of the virus, but this doesn't mean that we can relax our guard," he added.
Authorities have offered guests of the city centre hotel two nights' free accommodation at another of Hong Kong's luxury hotels to compensate for the inconvenience.Authorities have offered guests of the city centre hotel two nights' free accommodation at another of Hong Kong's luxury hotels to compensate for the inconvenience.
Although critics called the quarantine an over-reaction, officials were keen to avoid a repeat of the 2003 Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic.Although critics called the quarantine an over-reaction, officials were keen to avoid a repeat of the 2003 Sars (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic.
That outbreak killed 300 people in Hong Kong and 800 worldwide after a single carrier spread the disease in a city hotel.That outbreak killed 300 people in Hong Kong and 800 worldwide after a single carrier spread the disease in a city hotel.