13 fresh swine flu cases push tally to 228 in national capital
POSTED August 10, 2009 - 17:19 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Priya Markanda on August 10, 2009 - 17:48
The latest victims of Influenza A (H1N1) include five children aged between three and nine years of age. 12 of the 13 patients are reported to be human-to-human contact cases. A 31-year-old man who has returned from Singapore is the only case of a foreign return individual.
Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia said of the current status in the capital, “So far 228 swine flu cases have been confirmed in Delhi, of which 23 are admitted in hospitals and 35 are under home quarantine. The remaining 170 have been discharged after being cured.”
The government officials admitted that the number of people affected by the flu is rising, but maintained that the situation is under control.
The health minister disclosed, “At present, our focus is on containing the infection. That is why we have intensified the contact tracing drive. In the last three months, we have traced close to 2,200 people."
Home quarantine
The minister noted that permitting home quarantine took off quite a bit of load from hospitals which have seen a surge in the number of patients in the recent days. The period of recuperating in home quarantine is five days, added Ms Walia.
The minister suggested that the panic buttons had been pressed by the general public primarily because the symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of the common influenza.
Given the fact that the government will now promote home quarantine, the health department will also issue guidelines for home quarantine on Monday.
"We are explaining to parents and to families of positive patients about the necessary precautions that need to be taken during home quarantine," said a senior doctor at Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital.
Not to shut schools
The administration decided on Sunday that will not advise schools to shut down. The decision to close will be left with the concerned school.
Delhi Health Secretary J. P. Singh said, “While an advisory to take precautionary measures has been issued to all schools, no directions to close down schools have been issued.”
“Individual schools are free to shut down if they deem it necessary after informing the Directorate of Education,” he added.
