Canadian Kids Quarantined in China

The Chinese are having qualms about Canadian pork and they're pretty leery about Canadian kids too.

25-students from the University of Montreal have been thrown into a 7-day quarantine in Changchung. From CBC News:

The students, from the University of Montreal, had boarded a plane in Beijing. But when their plane arrived in Changchun an official came on board and asked all the Canadian passengers to present themselves, Martin Deslauriers told CBC News.

Health officials then took them to a room at the airport to have their temperatures taken, said Deslauriers, who is a student at the University of Montreal. No one in his group had a fever, but they were still informed they would be placed in quarantine, he said.

"At first we didn't think it was going to be for seven days and we were finding it very funny. Now it's a bit less funny," Deslauriers said.

They were first taken to a dormitory at a local university for the seven-day quarantine but were moved to a hotel on Sunday where they are the only guests, Deslauriers said.

The group has been told they aren't allowed to leave the facility and meals are being provided, Deslauriers said.

The students have been provided with internet access and have had the opportunity to contact their families, he said.

Wait a Minute - Weren't We All Supposed To Be Dead by Now?

Swine Flu, the Great Plague, the Black Death. That's all we've been hearing from our media since a new strain of influenza was diagnosed as coming out of Mexico. It sounded oh so grim with Mexicans dropping off in the hundreds. Surely it would lay low the strongest of civilizations in its unstoppable path. The World Health Organization screamed warnings of pandemic. The end was nigh.

Or not.

Seems the NewFlu bug wasn't remotely as virulent as feared. Pretty mild in fact and not terribly contagious after all. Now the WHO says there's no evidence of sustained spread in communities outside North America, meaning no pandemic.

Oh well, we can always dream: