Flu outbreak among asylum seekers reaches San Diego

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Sixteen asylum seekers who have exhibited flu-like symptoms after being flown to San Diego from South Texas are being quarantined.

San Diego County authorities said Friday that the asylum seekers and their families are staying in motel rooms.

Last week, U.S. immigration officials said they would begin three flights a week to San Diego from Texas' Rio Grande Valley. They said authorities in Texas are overwhelmed and need help processing people who are arrested.

At a major processing in McAllen, Texas, 32 migrants tested positive for influenza earlier this week after a flu-stricken teenage boy who stayed there died.

San Diego County recently converted a shuttered courthouse into a migrant shelter. The group of nonprofit organizations that manages the shelter has served more than 14,000 asylum seekers since October.