July 27, 2009 2:15:12 am
With seven more persons,including five students testing positive for H1N1,the number of infected has gone up to 48 in the city even as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) clarified there was no panic situation.
Of the 48 infected,the civic authority said 25 have been discharged from the civic hospital and 23 are under treatment. The seven cases confirmed on Sunday are two Class IX students of Symbiosis Secondary School,three from New India School,Bhusari Colony one each from Class VIII,IX and X and a couple residing in Aundh who recently returned from UK,said Dr Pradeep Awte,in-charge of state health departments influenza cell.
The three schools Abhinav English Medium School,Seva Sadan School and Symbiosis Schoolhad been closed for a week after students were reported to be infected with the H1N1 virus. Shashikant Sutar,chairman of the New India School that has three cases said they have decided to shut two divisions of Class IX and one of Class X,as the affected students are from these classes,for at least a week rather than close the school.
The decision whether to temporarily suspend Class VIII will be taken on Monday morning.
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Earlier,Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade said the civic administration believes there is no panic situation. The infected people are quarantined and given proper treatment at the civic-run Naidu Hospital. 25 patients have been discharged from the hospital so far and the rest are under treatment, Zagade said.
Children from four city schools have been found infected with the virus, he said adding that three schools have been closed for a week while similar suggestion will be given for the fourth as well. We will concentrate on telling infected students not to attend classes instead of closing the schools, Zagade said.
State Education Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil,who had on Saturday visited the three schools that were shut for a week said schools should not be closed down.
To tackle the spread of virus,Zagade said the civic administration has set up a dedicated monitoring cell headed by Additional Municipal Commissioner.
We are extra cautious. There will be an outreach team closely monitoring the situation by examining all students of any classroom that has even one student with the virus, he said.
The civic operations will also extend to the residential locality of the patient where the team will carry out check-ups of neighbours of the infected person,Zagade said.
The H1N1 virus is mild as per the state government directives. There is no need for citizens to panic,as its not a serious threat, Zagade appealed to citizens. There have been no fatalities in India so far. The virus has infected persons in the age group of 12-19 years,he said.
The PMC has set up a 20-bed ward at Naidu Hospital. The number of beds for H1N1 infected people will be increased to 40, Zagade said.
He has appealed to suspected patients with symptoms to keep away from public places and stay in home quarantine until they receive treatment from civic doctors or general practitioners.
The PMC has also started a helpline number 20250050 for any queries related to the H1N1 virus.
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