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Two groups of Canadians in China are being held in quarantine in hotel rooms as a precaution against the H1N1 flu, Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed Monday.

One group consists of tourists, who are being placed under "preventative medical surveillance" at the Metro Park Hotel in the Wanchia district of Hong Kong.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Alain Cacchione told The Canadian Press that, according to Chinese authorities, it was confirmed one of the guests tested positive for the H1N1 influenza virus.

"Consular officials have been assured by local authorities that all guests are being well cared for and have access to amenities including food and communications," Cacchione said from Ottawa.

"We have no indication at this time that any of them are showing flu-like symptoms."

Meanwhile, Sophie Langlois, director of media relations for the Universite de Montreal, confirmed to CTV.ca that students with the university's Centre for Studies in East Asia have also been quarantined.

Langlois said the professor leading the students on the trip said they are being held at a hotel in the northern city of Changchun.

The students are in China to study Mandarin and are taking part in a language exchange program.

On Saturday, they had flown from Beijing to Changchun, where they were met by health officials at the airport and taken to a room to have their temperatures taken.

Peter Kent, the minister responsible for overseas consular services, confirmed Monday that 22 students out of a class of 28 are currently in quarantine.

"They were originally quarantined in a university dorm, but after complaints, Chinese authorities moved them to a hotel," Kent told CTV's Power Play on Monday.

Kent noted that the students say they have been treated well and are free to move around the hotel.

"That said, we have asked Chinese authorities for an explanation of why this happened here," he said. "They passed through Beijing with no complications."

While no one in the group has a fever or is showing signs of illness, they were told they would have to be quarantined for seven days.

The group must have medical examinations in which their temperatures are taken, four times a day.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, acting assistant director-general of for Health Security and Environment at the World Health Organization, was asked about such quarantines at Monday morning's daily news conference.

"I don't want to comment on the disease control actions of specific countries," Fukuda said.

"I do want to point out that quarantine, in certain situations, can be a quite reasonable action to take in specific situations. There are times when it would be reasonable and other times when it would not.

"But as we've mentioned over and over again, situations differ and countries' approaches to disease control measures are choices. There is no set recipe for how you approach disease control."