Members of the local and international media stand gathered outside the Metropark hotel as guests and staff prepare to leave the building on Friday after spending exactly a week in quarantine over A (H1N1) flu fears. Edmond Tang

HONG KONG: Not all who may have come in contact with the Mexican H1N1 flu victim came under the seven-day quarantine. Two guests of the Metropark Hotel, who may have come in contact with the index case and left the hotel before the quarantine was imposed, are still on the loose, health officials said Friday.

The news came as Secretary for Food and Health York Chow declared victory in the city's first battle against A (H1N1) flu.

"We have passed the first hurdle in our fight against the disease when the quarantine measures end," Chow said before the quarantine order was lifted.

The city had been on red alert since May 1, when it was confirmed that a Mexican traveler entering Hong Kong was infected with the virus.

The patient has been in stable condition since his admission to the Princess Margaret Hospital.

On Friday night, the Mexican was discharged from the Infectious Diseases Centre after a thorough clinical assessment by infectious disease specialists from the hospital and the Centre for Health Protection (CHP), according to a spokesman of the hospital.

Controller of the CHP Thomas Tsang said one guest of the Metropark Hotel, who had left Hong Kong, was intercepted by immigration officials Friday when returning to the city via the airport, and sent to hospital.

Tsang explained that the person escaped the net, because the authority needed time to compile a guest list for the Immigration Department.

"It takes time for us to get the names and other particulars of the guests, such as their identification document, on the first day of our operation," Tsang said. "We cannot compile the list immediately after we enter the hotel, and therefore, there is a time gap."

Secretary Chow said the community should not relax its vigilance, and the government has not lowered its flu alert level.

"We can claim ourselves success for preventing the spread of human swine flu in the community. But that does not mean that we can be relaxed. There are still many cases of human swine flu. Hong Kong may have other confirmed cases in the future because it is an international city that has a huge traffic flow," he said.

But he said the government will review its strategy for dealing with human swine flu. Details of the review will be announced next week.

Meanwhile, the Education Bureau said each school will be given a special one-off grant of HK$3,000 to enhance precautionary measures against human swine flu.

(HK Edition 05/09/2009 page4)