Swine Flu: Death Toll Climbs, Govt. Intensifies Combat Measures

In the deadliest day of casualties, since the outbreak of the dreaded swine flu, five deaths, including two in Pune and one each in Vadodara, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, were reported on Tuesday taking the countrywide A/H1N1 toll to 12 in the last nine days.

On Tuesday alone, 119 new cases of swine flu were reported, taking the tally of those infected with the virus to 1,079.

Among the new cases, Pune reported 62, Mumbai 24, Delhi 15, Manipal 2, Ahmedabad 1, Bangalore 4, Nagpur 3, Osmanabad 1, Nashik 1, Goa 1, Hyderabad 2, Thiruvananthapuram 2 and Jammu 1.

Meanwhile, the flu threat gripped the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad with a Malaysian coach and a Singapore player, showing symptoms of the influenza.

While the Malaysian coach has been quarantined and is currently under observation, the Singapore player is being treated at a separate facility in the city.

Scores of schools across several cities remained shut as parents, worried over the safety of their wards, were reluctant to send them out owing to sensational coverage of news related to the H1N1 virus.

Taking a serious note of the matter, the Centre has informally advised television channels to exercise restraint while relaying news related to the epidemic rather than adding to the sense of alarm, said media reports.

Given the rise in number of new cases being reported from across the country, the Central and State governments have intensified measures to battle the virus.

Central teams were dispatched teams to all states and Union Territories after Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad chaired a meeting of 35 additional secretaries and joint secretaries, who would coordinate the government effort in these areas.

Azad urged chief ministers to step up preparedness to battle the outbreak and ensure on the spot decisions and swift implementation.