A school in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region resumed classes Friday after its 41 students tested negative for A/H1N1 flu, the region's health administration said on Friday.

Tests conducted by the Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Thursday showed the students had caught seasonal influenza, said CDC director Wang Wenrui.

All 800 students at the No. 2 Middle School, including the 41 aged 13 to 15, attended classes Friday.

The school arranged two classrooms for the sick children who were expected to fully recover over the weekend and rejoin their classmates next week, Wang said.

Doctors said their temperatures were normal and their symptoms were receding.

The school, in Qahar Youyi Rear Banner, Ulan Qab City, was closed Thursday after a student caught a cold on May 12 and more began to complain of coughs, sore throats and high temperatures. Some reached 39 degrees Celsius as of Wednesday.

Some students were hospitalized and others were placed under medical observation in two vacant classrooms at the school after the regional CDC launched its emergency response mechanism Thursday.

"Seasonal flu is common every year, but we must identify the sickness to ensure no more students are infected," said Wang.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2009)