A group of Canadian university students held in quarantine in China were probably the last to know that they are now free to leave the hotel where they've been staying.
David Ownby, the East Asian studies program director at the Universite de Montreal, says newspapers reported the quarantine had been lifted well before the students heard the information.
In fact, when Ownby spoke with the professor leading the group of 27 students, he said the group hadn't heard until about 8 p.m. local time that their travel restrictions had been lifted.
The students are expected to leave the hotel around 8:30 a.m. local time Thursday and head to North East University of Changchun where they will take language courses until mid-July.
The decision to end the quarantine was made after the provincial health authority sent doctors into the hotel for the first time to examine the students, Ownby said. Before that, the students had been asked to take their own temperatures and record the information, he said.
None of the students ever exhibited symptoms of the flu.
The students had been held since Saturday when officials stopped them after they stepped off a flight from Beijing at the Changchun airport. They were told they would need to stay at the hotel for one week, to ensure they weren't infected with H1N1.
The students said they were treated well at the hotel, provided with three meals a day, a garden to stroll in and a games room to relax in. They were also able to use a hotel phone to talk briefly with their families while others were able to use email to contact family and friends.
Health officials explained that they decided to include the time the students had spent travelling to China as part of their time in quarantine, Ownby said.
Pressure from the Canadian government also likely played a role.
On Tuesday, the Canadian Embassy in Beijing issued a "diplomatic note" to the Chinese Foreign Ministry asking for an explanation for why the students were placed under medical surveillance even though they were not at risk for virus.
Ottawa also expressed concern that consular officials were thwarted from providing full consular assistance to the students. The students were granted a quick visit from Canadian diplomats Tuesday, but local officials allowed them only a few minutes of access before they were ushered out.
The decision to release the students was made following a suggestion by the Chinese Foreign Ministr, said Lin Ji, an official at the Jilin provincial health department.
"After knowing the health condition of the students, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested this morning that we release them early," Lin said.
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the government was checking reports on the students' release. Cannon will be in China on Friday on a previously arranged trip.
"I will have an opportunity then to raise the issue directly with the Chinese authorities when I meet with them on the weekend," he added.
The Chinese government is maintaining a defiant tone, saying it will continue its strident checks on travellers from regions affected by the new strain of flu.
