Concern for the health of student volunteers at Shanghai Minhang District Central Hospital during the flu season was unnecessary, thedistrict's health and family planning commission has said.

A picture posted online of amiddle school student helping out in thehospital's respiratory department triggered a heated discussion about the risks to thestudent's health.

However, the commission said thefemale student from a middle school in the district was part of a team of volunteers organized by the school and parents to encourage a sense of public duty during the winter break.

Onthe day the picture was taken, five students had been working at the hospital, accompanied by a parent. Another 10 or so students had providedvoluntary services earlier.

The commission said the program had beentemporarily suspended but that follow-up visits to theteenagers' homes had shown they were all in good health.

"The parents think it's a good chance for their children to serve people at hospital for their social practice," an official with the commission said. But he said it would take it into consideration more carefully where the students would be volunteering.

Each volunteer at the hospital had been trained in how to protect themselves from infection, including the correct way of wearing a mask, and given other healthcare advice before they started, thecommission noted.

The hospitalorganizes various voluntary programs to give students a sense of public duty and improve their communication skills.