/ 12 August 2009

Mumbai closes all schools over swine flu fears

Indian authorities on Wednesday ordered all schools and colleges in Mumbai to shut for a week over fears about the spread of swine flu.

Indian authorities on Wednesday ordered all schools and colleges in the vast city of Mumbai to shut for a week over fears about the spread of swine flu.

The state government of Maharashtra has had the highest incidence of swine flu cases in India, and two women, aged 63 and 53, have died in Mumbai after being confirmed as having the virus.

”The government has decided to close down schools, colleges and coaching classes in the entire city for a week starting on Thursday,” said Suresh Wandile, spokesperson for the state’s chief minister.

”We have seen a rise in swine flu cases in the state. We need to take care, hence these precautionary measures,” he said, adding that all cinemas and theatres would also close for three days.

Mumbai, home of the Bollywood film industry, is a teeming industrial and financial city with an estimated population of 18-million people.

It has about 1 100 public schools and 350 colleges, with scores more private institutions.

Public concern in India about the spread of the A(H1N1) virus has mounted since the country’s first death from the disease on August 3.

As of Wednesday, 15 people infected by the virus had died, while more than 1 000 people had tested positive, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

The Health Ministry put the death toll at nine, saying it updated its figures every evening.

With the government appealing for calm, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad stressed that swine flu should be put in the context of other health risks in India.

”It is not the only virus we have in our country. We have much more fatal diseases, much more costly diseases,” he told reporters in Delhi earlier this week.

With most confirmed cases so far among people who have returned from overseas, tens of thousands of travellers arriving at India’s international airports from affected countries have been screened.

A 24-hour helpline and website have been set up, public hospitals have been given responsibility for testing and isolation of suspected cases, and 100 000 doses of the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu, have been sent to affected cities.

India’s fiercely competitive cable news channels have devoted hours of airtime to the virus, frequently featuring reporters wearing masks and standing in front of long lines of people waiting outside hospitals.

The World Health Organisation says that 1 154 people had died by July 31 after swine flu emerged in Mexico and the United States in April.

With many hospitals overwhelmed, the parents of India’s first victim — a 14-year-old girl — accused doctors of negligence, and demanded 50-million rupees ($1-million) in compensation for alleged delays and mistakes in her treatment.

The Maharashtra state government also urged that celebrations of two key festivals this month should be ”low-key”. — AFP

 

AFP