San Jose, Costa Rica - Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has returned to work after a bout with swine flu, his office said Monday in the capital San Jose.

Arias had been quarantined for seven days after being diagnosed with a mild case of the A(H1N1) virus last week. Arias has been serving as the mediator in talks to solve the political crisis in Honduras after President Manuel Zelaya was ousted in June.

The 68-year-old suffers from asthma and was therefore considered a high-risk patient for the virus that first appeared in Mexico in April.

In Costa Rica, 28 people have died from the flu.(dpa)