Australian lacrosse team quarantined in SKorean hotel over swine flu fears

Australian lacrosse players quarantined in SKorea

SEOUL, South Korea — An Australian lacrosse team was placed under quarantine in South Korea after a player tested positive for swine flu, jeopardizing its chances of playing in an international tournament here this week, officials said Sunday.

The 19-year-old player has been in a hospital since Saturday when he tested positive for the virus after arriving at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, said Health Ministry official Park Il-hun.

He said none of the 26 others in the party display symptoms of swine flu, also known as influenza A(H1N1), but were put in isolation as a precaution. The team arrived in South Korea from Melbourne via Hong Kong.

So far, South Korea has reported 61 swine flu cases including the lacrosse player and four others who were identified on Saturday. According to the World Health Organization 145 people have died of the virus in 74 countries, which have officially reported a total of 29,669 cases.

The one-week quarantine period for the Australians means that the under-21 men’s national team will likely miss the Asia Pacific Lacrosse Tournament starting Tuesday.

“They are not angry. They are disappointed. They understand there is a pandemic going on, and unfortunately they have been thrust in the middle of it,” assistant coach Greg Mollison told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from a hotel near Seoul where the team was sequestered.

He said that besides the young man in hospital, the team has 16 players and six staff members including coaches and managers. All have been quarantined along with four relatives of two players who came along to watch the games.

He said the team is not happy at being forced into quarantine even though none of them has shown any symptoms. Their temperature is being checked regularly and they have been provided Tamiflu drug.

“There has been overreaction but not necessarily from players and officials,” he said.

The team will be moved later Sunday from the hotel to an undisclosed facility where each person will have a single room but will have to use communal toilets and laundry, he said.

Mollison said he still hopes that the quarantine order will be canceled and the team — with players between 17 and 21 years old — will be allowed to play.

“At the moment it doesn’t look that good. We have decided that we will maintain a positive attitude and hope that common sense will prevail,” he said. “It is a little depressing and distressing.”

Some of the players worked two jobs to raise about 4,500 Australian dollars ($3,500) to participate in the tournament.

“They have worked very hard to get where they are. They have worked very hard to raise the money. We don’t get any financial assistance from anyone. It is all raised by themselves, either by their parents or by selling raffle tickets or whatever,” he said.

Of the 61 swine flu cases in South Korea, 49 people have been released from hospitals. No deaths have been reported here.

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Associated Press writer Kwang-tae Kim contributed to this report.