Many of the hundreds of guests quarantined in Hong Kong's Metropark hotel shed their face masks to party away their final night in confinement yesterday, Reuters reports. The guests—who were initially outraged to learn they would be confined to the hotel for a week because of swine flu fears—say they've made lifelong friends in quarantine, and at least two new couples will be leaving the hotel together tonight.
"I expect there will be a few guests feeling a bit worse for wear today when we're given the health check," one businessman said. "Thankfully, it will be due to the vast quantities of wine they put away last night and not the swine flu." (More Hong Kong stories.)