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4 Pinoys OK to go home from HK quarantine


MANILA, Philippines - After a week of being locked up inside a four-star hotel, four Filipinos, including a child, have been given the go-signal by the Hong Kong government to return home after registering no signs of A(H1N1) infection. Consul General Claro Cristobal said the Filipinos will be released from their rooms at the Metropark Hotel at around 8:30 p.m. (Hong Kong time). “All our kababayans have completed d medical exam and are alright and set to be out of quarantine by 8:30 tonight," Cristobal told GMANews.TV in an interview. Hong Kong’s Secretary for Food and Health, Dr. York Chow told Philippine officials there that all all hotel guests will undergo medical examination and given certificates attesting that they are in good health and free of the A(H1N1) virus, better known as swine flu. It is unclear however, whether the returning Filipino travelers would undergo a similar quarantine process upon their arrival in Manila. At least one of the Filipinos held there hails from Cebu, where three other travelers are being tested for the dreaded flu virus. [See: 3 people in Cebu being checked for H1N1 virus] On May 1, Hong Kong reported the first case of A(H1N1) infection in Asia as a Mexican tourist visiting the Chinese province was diagnosed with swine flu on May 1. [See: Hong Kong reports Asia's 1st confirmed swine flu case] The Filipina from Cebu was billeted at the hotel together with her son and another Filipina from a third country. The Filipinos busied themselves inside the hotel by surfing the Internet and reading hotel magazines. The visas of the Filipino tourists as well as 200 other guests inside the hotel were extended by the Hong Kong government, while their accommodation fees were waived. Some Filipinos also made special requests from the Philippine Consulate while spending their time inside the posh hotel. [See: Quarantined Pinoys enjoy freebies, fried chicken] - Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV
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