British tourist Nina Coxall was surprised when the orange juice and cookie she had ordered from a hotel bar failed to arrive 20 minutes after she had placed her order.

She was even more surprised when she was asked to return to her room because she might have swine flu.

"I felt humiliated, especially since I did not have any symptoms and was feeling well," she said.

The measure was taken by The Palace Hotel, in Sliema, to protect staff and other guests, although a few hours later Mrs Coxall was declared non-contagious by a doctor.

The woman, from Essex, was at the lobby bar with her husband, Gareth on Sunday afternoon when she faced this awkward situation.

According to the couple, who are in Malta with their four-year-old daughter and Mrs Coxall's parents, the duty manager took Mr Coxall to one side and told him his wife should be in her room since she had the flu.

The little group was meant to be having dinner to celebrate the couple's wedding anniversary and Mrs Coxall's 32nd birthday at one of the hotel's restaurants on Sunday evening but even this had to be cancelled.

However, Mrs Coxall, who is nine weeks pregnant, was never diagnosed with swine flu.

"I was worried but when I asked the doctor whether I was suffering from swine flu he said the only way to find out was to take a swab," she said.

Visiting her on Friday evening, Dr Kevin Navarro Gera, had contacted the health authorities so she could be swabbed and tested.

However, Mrs Coxall felt much better the following morning and it was decided by the authorities that she did not need to be swabbed. The tourist even decided not to take anti-virals, after he was told that it was up to her whether to take them or not depending on how she felt.

"I would not have gone out if I was still unwell, if not for my sake, for my baby's," she said.

Mrs Coxall believed she got the flu early last week when she started suffering from a headache and nausea. But she mistook the symptoms as morning sickness. On Friday, Mr Coxall realised his wife was running a high temperature.

She spent Friday and most of Saturday in bed but she felt well enough to go out on Sunday.

"That is why I was so surprised to be told I was not going to be served food or drink in public areas and that I should return to my room," she said.

The hotel has defended its action to ask Mrs Coxall to go up to her room. When contacted, operations manager Jonathan Pisani said it was done to ensure staff and other guests were not exposed to the virus.

"We took precautions following the doctor's advice," he said, adding the doctor had told her to stay in her room for at least three days.

"We had to be careful because of other guests," he said.

Asked whether this meant the hotel would be containing all patients in their rooms when they had flu symptoms in the winter months, Mr Pisani said that was different.

While Mrs Coxall insisted the doctor never told her to stay inside, Dr Navarro Gera said he advised her to do so until she felt better.

The authorities have never enforced quarantine and have always made it clear it was voluntary, said a spokesman for the Community Care Parliamentary Secretary.

The World Health Organisation advised against quarantine early on in the pandemic, saying containment was not a feasible option since the flu was already so widespread.

In Malta, the government moved from trying to contain the illness to mitigating the impact of it on patients early in July, just a week after the first case was identified in Malta.

China has been heavily criticised after taking a strict policy to quarantine any suspected swine flu patients. Last week British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said they were not allowing suspected swine flu patients to travel.