‘Shut schools only if 3 or more cases in different classes’

The committee has asked the DPI (Schools) to gather information about the percentage of absentee students in each school within a week and present it before the committee for further analysis.

‘Private lab can’t conduct tests’
The Health department has directed private labs to not conduct swine flu tests without authorisation. Referring to the specific instance of Dr Lal Path Lab conducting H1N1 tests,the department said the lab did not have permission for it. The fact that the lab was conducting tests came to light after the UT health department came across several swine flu cases of school students. “The samples of these students were not examined in our laboratory,” said H C Gera,UT nodal officer for swine flu. Then the department found that tests were done by Dr Lal Path Lab.

“But the laboratory did not inform any public health authority,so that the patients could be quarantined in order to stop the virus from spreading. Most of their customers were from top private schools of the city. The most objectionable activity of the lab was that they were collecting the samples from people’s homes,which is risky and also in violation of the Union health ministry’s guidelines on swine flu,” said Gera. According to experts at PGI’s department of virology,swab samples must always be taken in isolation and a negative pressure room.

According to the Health department,Dr Lal lab collected 22 samples in all,allegedly charging Rs 4,500 for each test. Eleven of these were positive.

Two new cases of swine flu were confirmed in the city on Friday. These include a student of Ryan International School and a resident of Mohali. Both have been quarantined at their homes