The parents of hundreds of children quarantined for five days at Shanghai New Century Kindergarten were able to breath a sigh of relief on Friday as the forced seclusion ended.

　　The kindergarten in Xuhui District was informed last Monday that a student named Wang Zi was hospitalized with SARS-like symptoms.

　　The district government and Xuhui District Disease Prevention and Control Center took action immediately to locate anyone who came in close contact with the 7-year-old girl.

　　Altogether, 168 children and staff were quarantined at the kindergarten for observation. Local doctors brought masks and medicine to the kindergarten and disinfected the building.

　　"As New Century was a boarding kindergarten, the teachers had to take on a lot of responsibility during the separation. We took every effort to ensure every child's health and safety," said Wang Lijing, Wang Zi's teacher.

　　"To ease the worry of parents, we lifted all the children overhead in turn, allowing their parents to see their children through the window," said Wang.

　　On Thursday afternoon, doctors confirmed Wang Zi didn't have SARS, so the kindergarten students were released on Friday.

　　While the city government vows it is providing accurate figures about the number of people infected with SARS or suspected ofshavingsthe disease, its daily updates don't say how many people have been quarantined in the city because of contact with a suspected carrier.