Mexico hits at China's quarantine policy

A diplomatic row between China and Mexico escalated yesterday as the Mexican government prepared to airlift dozens of its citizens from the country in response to what it called discrimination in its quarantining practices for H1N1 swine flu.

International flights to Beijing are being stopped before they reach the terminal and are not allowed to offload until health authorities have checked passengers and crew for symptoms, airport officials said yesterday.

Mexican citizens showing no signs of illness are being singled out during these health checks no matter where the planes are from and taken away for quarantine in hospitals and hotels without explanation and without embassy or consulate staff being informed, Mexican officials said.

In one case, a Mexican citizen who is resident in Beijing was taken off a plane on returning from a business trip to New York and put into quarantine in a state-run hotel near his home, despite showing no flu symptoms and despite not having gone to Mexico, according to Mexican officials who asked not to be named.

They said no passengers of other nationalities from his plane were quarantined despite being in close contact with him on the flight.

Beijing yesterday denied it was targeting Mexican citizens. It called on the Mexican government to “be understanding of the measures adopted by China and [to] handle this matter objectively and calmly.”

The World Health Organisation has given a more nuanced response. “We know closures of borders, restriction on people, goods and services will not slow down transmission of the influenza virus,” Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO, told the FT. “If countries see fit, imposing quarantining would not contravene our recommendations.”

On Saturday, Mexico's foreign ministry told its citizens not to travel to China until concerns about discrimination were addressed. It said China was the only country where Mexicans have been confined against their will. It singled out Beijing, where a group of 10 Mexican citizens held in isolation in a hotel included three young children and four people who had arrived on direct flights from the US.

The Mexican embassy in Beijing was busy yesterday arranging a flight to repatriate any citizens who wanted to leave the country, including the 71 people who have been quarantined in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Hangzhou and Hong Kong.

China's state-controlled media has been filled with reports of the government's swift response, particularly after a Mexican tourist was diagnosed with the virus in Hong Kong after flying from Mexico through Shanghai.

Of the 71 Mexicans currently being held in quarantine in China, 42 were on the flight from Mexico with the 25-year-old man.