Special Report: World Tackles A/H1N1 Flu 　

    HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong reported the first confirmed case of influenza A/H1N1 infection in the city on Friday, prompting authorities to immediately raise the flu alert level from "serious" to the highest level of "emergency".

    "The patient is a Mexican arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday by air via Shanghai," Chief Executive Donald Tsang told reporters after an emergency meeting with senior officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

Medical workers transport boxes of disinfectants to the quarantined Metropark Hotel, where the patient of influenza A/H1N1 checked in, in Wanchai of Hong Kong, south China, May 1, 2009. Hong Kong has reported the first confirmed case of influenza A/H1N1 in the city, Chief Executive Donald Tsang announced on May 1. (Xinhua/Zhou Lei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Even before the emergency meeting concluded in the evening, the Department of Health ordered the MetroPark Hotel, where the patient has been living, to be quarantined.

    MEXICAN PATIENT ARRIVED BY AIR VIA SHANGHAI

    The patient, a 25-year-old male, checked into the Metropark Hotel in Wanchai, Hong Kong, on Thursday afternoon and developed flu symptoms of lethargy, cough and a sore throat in the evening. He went to see the doctor at the nearby Ruttonjee Hospital at around 8:00 p.m., Secretary for Food and Health York Chow said.

Policemen guard the quarantined Metropark Hotel, where the patient of influenza A/H1N1 checked in, in Wanchai of Hong Kong, south China, May 1, 2009. (Xinhua/Zhou Lei) Photo Gallery>>>

    Preliminary tests thereafter showed the patient was positive for the new strain and further laboratory tests confirmed the result on Friday evening. The patient was currently in quarantine at the Princess Margaret Hospital and in stable condition.

    Chow said the man arrived via Shanghai on Thursday afternoon but did not leave the airport in Shanghai, adding that the HKSAR government has informed the central government and authorities in Shanghai of the confirmed flu case.

    But it was not immediately clear where the patient went to and how long he stayed at airport in Shanghai, Chow said.

    The man sat at seat 23A aboard the China Eastern Airlines MU505and the passengers in the three rows before or behind the Mexican shall be quarantined, he added.

    HOTEL CORDONED OFF, ABOUT 300 AFFECTED

    The announcement on the case came after a daily briefing on the flu situation scheduled for the afternoon was abruptly canceled and senior officials of the HKSAR government were seen gathering for the emergency meeting.

    The Metropark Hotel has also been cordoned off even before the emergency meeting concluded, and no one was allowed out of the hotel. Policemen and health security personnel outside the hotel were wearing masks, Xinhua reporters saw at the scene.

    There are about 100 hotel staff members and 200 guests in the hotel, and they would be put in quarantine for 7 days from now, health officials said.

    Medical personnel aboard ambulances arrived at the hotel in the evening later to take to hospital some of the guests that have developed flu-like symptoms.

    A man was seen making a phone call at the lobby, telling someone on a cell phone that he was not allowed to leave the hotel and was wondering what had happened.

    The patient was believed to have taken a taxi from the Hong Kong International Airport to the hotel together with two friends that traveled together with him. He also met a local friend after arriving in Hong Kong.

    The three were now in quarantine, Chow said, urging the driver of the taxi to call health authorities for help.

    PREVENTION MEASURES IN PUBLIC PLACES

    Chief Executive Donald Tsang urged local residents to keep calm, saying that he would head a task force to fight the flu and the HKSAR government would try its best to contain the spread of the virus.

    The Airport Authority and the city's transit system operator MTR soon announced that they were following the steps of the HKSAR government to enhance health security.

    The Hospital Authority announced that they were raising the alert levels and requiring those who visit hospitals to wear masks.

    Nevertheless, Tsang said it was not necessary for the public to panic and the daily activities such as schooling and businesses should proceed as normal, but strict health security and prevention measures should be put in place.

    A public gathering at an outlying island that had been expected to attract thousands of visitors should also proceed, as there was only one case and the risk of an outbreak at the community level remained low, Chow said.