(For full coverage of the flu outbreak, click [nFLU]) By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG, May 2 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's move to quarantine hundreds of people in a hotel after a Mexican man tested positive for H1N1 flu was causing dismay among some guests on Saturday, while an infectious disease expert questioned the drastic steps. Police wearing surgical masks sealed off the Metropark hotel on Friday night after test results on the 25-year-old Mexican guest were confirmed, ordering approximately 200 guests and 100 staff to stay in the hotel for the next seven days. The measures taken by the authorities in Hong Kong underscore the concern here about the new flu and the confirmed case, Asia's first. Hong Kong was badly hit by the SARS virus in 2003 and has had many episodes of H5N1 bird flu for more than a decade. "They said everybody needed to go back to their rooms. I don't want to go to my room because I want to be out," an Australian man at the hotel told a TV reporter by telephone. "They haven't told us anything at all. They told me I will stay here. I won't be allowed out and this is it. So I don't know what is happening." Officials said no one would be allowed to leave the hotel in the Wanchai district, an area popular with tourists, and outsiders would not be allowed in. Journalists and camera crews massed on the street outside the hotel, which is being guarded by police. Twelve guests who had refused to stay were taken to a lodging house close to the border with mainland China. The site was used to quarantine Hong Kong people who were exposed to the SARS virus back in 2003, a government spokesman said. The government denied people were being confined to their rooms. The Mexican man arrived in Hong Kong from Mexico on Thursday following a stopover in Shanghai. He developed a fever after arriving and took a taxi to a hospital on Thursday evening. He is in a stable condition, officials said. Authorities appealed for passengers on the same flight as the Mexican to report to health officials. "We are looking for 142 passengers and crew and the two taxi drivers who took the man to the hotel and to the hospital," the government spokesman said. Health officials said the "essential needs" of those inside the hotel would be looked after. They would also get regular medical check-ups and psychologists were on standby. OVER-REACTION, EXPERT SAYS Lo Wing-lok, an infectious disease expert, said the government was over-reacting. "He would have been infectious starting from the time he was on the plane. Think about all the people around him on the plane, while he was going through customs, waiting for baggage, in the taxi, in the hotel and when he got to hospital," Lo said. "So how can it be effective if the government is just trying to isolate people in the hotel, it is a mission impossible." "The government has to be honest and tell people to get back to the basics. Wash their hands, take care of personal hygiene and wear masks. All these seem too simple to report, but this is what should be reported." The new virus, which is largely swine and part avian and human, has killed up to 101 people in Mexico, but confirmed cases in other countries have been mild. Nevertheless, news of the infected traveller caused jitters in Hong Kong and some people were taking no chances. In subways, ferry terminals and on the streets, more people went about their business on Saturday wearing surgical masks, although some had masks fashioned out of cloth. At the checkout counters in a supermarket, residents rifled through masks and sterilisers. A sign nearby said: "Prevent flu infection." (Additional reporting by Wee Sui Lee, editing by Dean Yates)
A police officer wearing a face mask stands guard in front of the Songshan Airport in Taipei, May 2, 2009. Countries worldwide have ramped up their border and airport checks and ...
