By IANS,
Bangalore : The Karnataka government Friday said medical check-ups would be held in all schools in the state in view of the spreading Influenza A (H1N1) virus. There was, however, no need to panic and close schools and colleges in the state, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa said.
The check-ups would be completed in one week, he told reporters after a meeting held here with senior officials to review the state’s preparedness to tackle the virus spread. A school teacher died in Bangalore Wednesday, the first swine flu victim in the state.
Yeddyurappa said the state had stock of around 100,000 Tamiflu tablets and 500 test kits. “There is no dearth of funds to buy more, if needed,” he added.
Rupa Anand, a 26-year-old teacher at a south Bangalore school, died Wednesday in a hospital, five days after she was admitted with pneumonia symptoms.
Most of around 50,000 schools in the state have a long weekend as they are closed Friday for Janmashtami and Saturday for the Independence Day. Sunday is a weekly holiday and the schools will reopen Monday. Around ten million children attend the schools.
State Health Minister B. Sriramulu, whose absence from Bangalore for more than a week had drawn opposition criticism and demand for his sacking, was present at Friday’s meeting.
He later told reporters that though mostly he was away in his home district Bellary, about 260 km from Bangalore, he was in touch with senior officials of his ministry over phone and was monitoring the situation.