The department said it had appointed 38 medical institutions, which have the capability to set up flu examinations centers in 96 hospitals to examine any suspect flu patients.

Thirteen people from Mexico and Canada were removed from quarantine from Beijing You'an Hospital on Thursday, said Li Ning, head of the hospital.

"We released them after the tests. The foreigners said the medical examinations were understandable," Li said.

The panic caused by confirmation of the two A(H1N1) flu patients in China has helped boost sales of face masks and some traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with antiviral function, such as Banlangen, a kind of crystal powder made of a medicinal herb bearing the same name and commonly prescribed for treating the common cold in China.

Qiu Xiaolin, an administrative personnel with Tongrentang Pharmacy on Zongfu Road in Chengdu City, capital of Sichuan Province, said there had been long queues of local residents to buy antiviral TCM at his store each day since Monday.

"We now sell 2,000 boxes of Banlangen and 400 face masks each day, comparing 100 boxes of Banlangen and 20 face masks daily before Monday," said Qiu, "No worry, we have reserved a good stock of those materials."

(Xinhua News Agency May 15, 2009)