Although people from English-speaking countries find it relatively easy to communicate in China, patients from Japan, the Republic of Korea and other Asian nations have had to settle with using body language or drawing pictures.

"To our surprise, foreigners enjoyed this kind of communication a lot. They could feel our friendly hearts under the cold protective clothes," said Liu. "But whenever we have a new foreigner, we make an effort to put together greetings and a few sentences in their language, too."

Liu's boyfriend Zhang Ming also works on the frontline in the battle against the H1N1 influenza. He is the principal doctor for an overseas student surnamed Liu, who was Beijing's first confirmed case on Saturday, May 16.

The couple has not seen each other for three days, but nurse Liu said their situation was still better than some of their colleagues. She added: "Some staff are not getting enough time to take care of their children and parents."

As of yesterday, the hospital had discharged all but 17 of the patients under observation, with the rest expected to get the all clear on Tuesday.

"Each person, as they left the hospital, has given us a warm hug. It is the best reward for our efforts," said Liu.

One of those relieved to be out of hospital will be the Italian tourist who was suspected of being the first H1N1 virus case in the Tibet autonomous region.

 The 42-year-old woman, who has not been named, and her traveling companions all tested negative for the deadly strain and released from quarantine at about 10:40 am yesterday, said Dekyi, vice-chairwoman of the regional government.

An examination by the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed she was infected with only the A(H3N2) virus, also known as "seasonal flu", while her temperature was 37.5 C and her sore throat alleviated.

She had a fever of 38.5 C, a sore throat, stuffy nose and was sweating when she arrived at Zham, a border town in the Xigaze prefecture, on Saturday and was sent straight to the hospital.

The 23 other tourists in her party were put under observation at the Caiyuan Hotel, in Zham, while the Ministry of Health dispatched six experts to Tibet to back up medical staff from the Tibet health bureau.