Patients infected with the H1N1 virus will soon stop getting free treatment from the Chinese government.

"We are going to charge the patient for treatment because we don't know how long the pandemic will last in China and we want the prevention and control work to be sustainable," said Liang Wannian, deputy director of the emergency response office under the Ministry of Health (MOH), at a press conference yesterday.

Currently, all confirmed patients are hospitalized for free and everyone suspected of having the virus must be quarantined at designated establishments for seven days, putting a strain on the government's economic and human resources over the long run, Liang said.