Chilean Health Minister Alvaro Erazo on Sunday confirmed the first case of A/H1N1 flu in the nation, in which a 32-year-old woman arrived in Chile from Dominican Republic resort Punta Cana on Saturday.
He told media that she had been interned and quarantined at the capital Thorax Hospital and is receiving anti-viral treatment.
Erazo said the woman had been spotted in Santiago Airport and had been taken to the hospital immediately for evaluation and medical tests. The confirmation was delivered in the early hours of Sunday.
He said that all the measures corresponding to the sanitary emergency are being taken and that the passengers on the infected woman´s flight are being contacted to proceed with voluntary quarantine and other prevention measures.
Erazo also cheered the effectiveness of the fever scanner installed at the airport terminal for "allowing us appropriate detection and information of every person entering the country."
He urged Chileans to be calm, saying that "all the measures needed to contain the outbreak have been taken."
He said that the first confirmed case would not change health coverage because "It is one or more isolated cases caught outside of Chile."
He added that the initial outbreak controls would remain in place after this confirmed case, and that if "in some case, especially if there are more symptoms, we will proceed to hospitalization ... with the greatest swiftness, as has been the case to date."
On Tuesday, Chile´s Health Ministry announced that one suspect H1N1 flu case remains in Chile.