Passengers quarantined in the Chinese mainland who took the same flight with a Mexican national later diagnosed with influenza A/H1N1 in Hong Kong will be out of quarantine on Thursday if they display no flu-like symptoms, China's Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

The passengers, scattered in 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the Chinese mainland, would be free to go by 6 a.m. Thursday, after local health authorities confirm they show no fever, acute respiratory symptoms, or other signs of influenza A/H1N1 infection.

Those who show flu-like symptoms will be isolated at designated health institutions and will receive medical treatment there, the ministry said. People in close contact with them will also be quarantined.

None of the passengers had yet showed any flu-like symptoms as of Monday, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

A flight crew of 13 Mexicans and 166 passengers who remained in the Chinese mainland were put into a seven-day quarantine on May 1after taking Thursday's Mexican flight Aeromexico 098 from Mexico City to Shanghai.

The quarantine came after a 25-year-old male Mexican who took the same flight was confirmed on Friday in Hong Kong to be infected with influenza A/H1N1.

On Tuesday, a Mexican chartered plane arrived at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport to pick up the quarantined Mexicans.

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. Six Mexican nationals volunteered to stay in the city.

(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2009)