A Filipino tourist who arrived by air yesterday had been confirmed as Macao’s first imported Influenza A (H1N1) case.

Medical personnel at Macau International Airport detected the man had fever and sent him to hospital, where he was tested positive for the virus. The test result was reconfirmed by a public laboratory in Hong Kong today.

The man is now being treated in the Hospital Conde S. Januário.

The Chief Executive, Mr Edmund Ho Hau Wah, chaired a meeting of the Co-ordination Centre for Preparedness and Response to Influenza Pandemic in the afternoon when he was briefed by officials from several departments on their precautionary measures.

During the meeting, Mr Ho urged all the public departments to use its best efforts to combat the disease.

At another occasion, Mr Ho urged the public to maintain good personal hygiene and not to panic, saying that the Government would take all necessary precautionary measure to curb the spread of the virus.

Macao would maintain its pandemic alert at level V since the patient had not entered the local communities and there were no local transmissions.