A Chinese passenger (L) from the Mexico City-Shanghai flight AM098, where a Mexican man was confirmed to be infected with influenza A/H1N1, receives flowers and a letter as the quarantine ends in Shanghai, east China, May 7, 2009. Chinese health authorities on Thursday started lifting a seven-day quarantine on passengers who took the same flight with the Mexican man. [Li Wen/Xinhua]

The Beijing Disease Control Center confirmed that 16 quarantined people will end the flu quarantine Thursday, of which nine were from the Mexican flight.

One of the passengers, surnamed Wen, told Xinhua over phone Thursday morning while she was on her way home that "Each of us has been given a notice with the health bureau's seal to verify that we've passed the medical quarantine. My employer sent a car to take me home," she said.

She said the notice is important to prove her health is good so that she would not face prejudice from her colleagues after returning to work.

He Xiong, deputy director of the disease control center, said that there are 51 people still under quarantine in Beijing.

"They were either under health check at hospital or staying in an isolated hotel. None of their saliva sample tested positive for the flu virus," said He.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday notified local health authorities that the passengers quarantined in the Chinese mainland who took the same flight with the Mexican will be out of quarantine on Thursday, if they display no flu-like symptoms.

The passengers are now scattered in nearly 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland.

None of them had yet showed any flu-like symptoms as of midnight Wednesday, according to the ministry.

A day earlier, 25 Canadian students were released from medical surveillance in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province.

The overseas students at Northeast Normal University were put under observation at a hotel immediately after flying to Changchun on May 2 from Canada via Beijing.

The students had displayed no influenza A/H1N1-like symptoms, including fever and sore throat, local health authorities said late Wednesday.

Prof. Yu Hongju, head of the students delegation from the University of Montreal, told Xinhua Thursday that he himself and most of the students understood the measures taken by the local health authorities to prevent disease.

"China has a large population. It will be very dangerous if the influenza A/H1N1 is spread out of control," he said.

Martin, one of the students, said he is looking forward to the life in China.

"I hope my Chinese will improve a lot during next two and a half months. I am satisfied with the study schedule which is made by the university," he said.

The young man, a kungfu fan, has visited the famed Shaolin Temple, the cradle of kungfu in central Henan Province, and made friends with a monk there.

"I hope to learn more kungfu from my monk friend," he said.

The country of 1.3 billion people has mobilized several governmental sectors including ministries of Health, Agriculture, Foreign Affairs and China Center for Disease Control to be engaged in prevention of the influenza's outbreak.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, has added 5 billion yuan (725 million U.S. dollars) for flu prevention and control work to nationwide health education campaigns about the virus.

(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2009)