About H1N1

Current Airport Procedures for Preventing Spread of H1N1 Flu in China

China has instituted the following procedures for border authorities to screen for the possibility of influenza among passengers on arriving international flights:

1) Flights arriving from affected countries, including the United States,will be segregated at specific gates and passengers will move through specific channels for Health and Quarantine (H&Q) clearance.

2) Prior to disembarking from the aircraft, passengers will be required to complete and submit a H&Q health declaration card, which will be provided by the air carrier. H & Q officials will collect the cards on board the aircraft or planeside.

3) All customers will be required to process through two separate thermal-scanning checkpoints. Temperature readings are taken by hand wands or from fixed-position infrared monitors that do not make any contact with the traveler.

4) If there are one or more suspected cases of H1N1 on an arriving flight,the air carrier will be required to report the case to Chinese H&Q prior to the arrival of the flight. Passengers and crew on the flight will be quarantined in a designated area (e.g., in Beijing, Terminal 3: Concourse D) until H&Q determines what steps to take, which may include simply completing a "Quarantine Card," undergoing a routine medical exam at the airport, or, in some circumstances, transportation to local hospitals and/or hotels designated for quarantine.

5) H&Q will implement different procedures for individual passengers with H1N1 influenza symptoms, which may include: 1) observation in a hospital designated to handle H1N1 cases, or quarantine. Persons on flights with an individual who tests positive for the H1N1 virus can be held in quarantine up to seven days. Persons on flights with individuals suspected of having the virus but who test negative will be released shortly after the results are known, usually within 12 hours. As of May 5, 2009, the principal hospitals designated as H1N1 treatment centers in Shanghai are the Shanghai Public Health Center, Jinshan District and Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Minghan District

6) If you are ordered into quarantine or admitted to a hospital for observation, please immediately contact us at U.S. Consulate General Shanghai:
The Consular Section is located in the Westgate Mall,
8th Floor, 1038 Nanjing Xi Lu, Shanghai 200041;
tel. (86-21) 3217-4650,
Email: Shanghaiacs@state.gov.
For after hours emergencies, please call 86-21-6433-3936.

For additional information, see:
http://beijing.usembassy-china.org.cn/050609u.html,
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4493.html and
http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1089.html.

You may also call the Office of Overseas Citizens Services in the United States for the latest travel information. The Office of Overseas Citizens Services can be reached from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Monday through Friday, by calling 1-888-407-4747 from within the U.S. and Canada, or by calling (202) 501-4444 from other countries.

Click here to get more infomation about H1N1.

Medical Alert Swine Flu Virus
(Information provided courtesy the Raffles Medical Group.)