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Schools in Mumbai closed amid H1N1 flu panic

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-12 21:17

MUMBAI, India: Authorities ordered the closure of all schools and movie theaters in Mumbai on Wednesday, as the number of A(H1N1) flu fatalities in the country rose to 15, officials and news reports said.

Children wearing masks sit in a classroom at a school in Mumbai August 10, 2009. [Agencies]

Some individual Indian schools have previously been closed when students tested positive for the virus, but this is the first time that all schools and movie theaters have been shut in a major city.

India has confirmed 1,078 cases of A(H1N1) flu, according to the Health Ministry, including 589 people who have recovered. Television news channels reported Wednesday that the number of fatalities had risen to 15.

All schools and colleges in Mumbai, India's financial and entertainment capital, will remain closed until August 19, and movie theaters until August 16, according to Prajakta Lavangare, the spokeswoman for Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital.

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"The government took the decision as a measure to check the further spread of the virus," Lavangare told reporters.

The A(H1N1) flu deaths included two people in Mumbai and eight in Pune city, also in Maharashtra state, according to news reports.

Television news channels have been flooded with stories on the spread of the virus, and panic has mounted across the country as thousands of people have rushed to hospitals to be tested.

Last week the Health Ministry tried to quell the panic and altered its guidelines for people suffering from flu-like symptoms, asking them to visit government health centers for testing, but allowing all but the most severe cases to return home to await the results. Earlier, anyone reporting to a government hospital to be tested was quarantined while they awaited the outcome.

However, people arriving in India from abroad with flu-like symptoms will continue to be quarantined.