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Mexican plane flies in to pick up nationals

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-05 17:26

SHANGHAI -- A Mexican chartered plane arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Tuesday to pick up quarantined Mexicans, but six Mexican nationals volunteered to stay in the city, a Mexican diplomat said.

The passengers were quarantined Thursday after one Mexican passenger was diagnosed with the influenza A(H1N1) on board flight AM098 from Mexico to Shanghai.

An Aeromexico plane sits on the tarmac of Pudong International Airport in Shanghai May 5, 2009. [Agencies]

Andres Pena, vice consul-general of Mexico in Shanghai, said those who got on the plane included 43 crew and passengers on board the AM098 and 34 others, who worked and lived in China but were not under quarantine.

Full Coverage:  A(H1N1) Influenza Outbreak Related readings:  Chinese nationals leave Mexico in chartered plane  Some fear flu rebound as Mexico seeks 'normalcy'  Mexico receives 2nd shipment of Chinese flu aid  Mexico declares epidemic to be waning  Mexico flight passengers quarantined

Most of the six Mexican nationals were identified as students who are studying in China. They were not immediately available for comment.

Xu Jianguang, director of the Shanghai health bureau, said all of the Mexicans expressed their decision to stay in or leave China in written form.

He said the six who preferred to stay will continue to live in the four-star hotel where they have been under quarantine since May 2.

The Mexico Foreign Ministry on Monday called on nationals, including tourists and temporary residents in China, to contact the embassy and  consulates in China to get the information about the chartered plane on May 5 (Beijing Time).

Sources with the Shanghai health department said the plane will fly to Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong to pick up more passengers, and then leave the country for Mexico.

The chartered plane was sent by the Mexican government to pick up Mexicans "who wanted to leave China," according to the diplomat.

He said he was aware that the Mexicans were satisfied with the care and services the Chinese side provided during their quarantine.

There were 176 people and 13 crew members on the flight AM098. Most were Chinese citizens. Of the total on board, 56 disembarked in Shanghai, 41 caught a connecting flight to Guangzhou, 17 transferred to Beijing, and two were refused entry to China. That accounts for 116 of the passengers, some of whom -- including the Mexican male -- flew on to Hong Kong, taking China Eastern Airlines flight MU505.

The Mexican government on Monday complained China's decision to quarantine the Mexican nationals in China.

However, World Health Organization (WHO) flu chief Keiji Fukuda said quarantines were a "long-established principle" that make sense in the early phases of an outbreak.

"There are other countries that are taking similar actions like China, so I don't think China is standing out in this respect," said Dr. Hans Troedsson, WHO representative in China.

Wen Li, a Chinese citizen, who is under quarantine in Beijing, said she was called by disease control staff at midnight on Saturday to be placed under quarantine because she was a passenger on the AM098 flight.

"I think the quarantine is necessary and responsible for everybody, regardless of nationality," said the woman, adding that her quarantine is expected to end Wednesday evening or Thursday.