By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia Thursday asked parents not to send their children to school if they show symptoms of swine flu, but at the same time advised students that there was no need for panic.
On a visit to St. Thomas School, where 11 students were diagnosed with influenza A (H1N1), Walia said the government is fully prepared to treat swine flu in case there is an outbreak.
“Swine flu has not taken a virulent form and there is no need to worry about the disease. It is curable and can be controlled,” Walia said.
Of the 11 students of the school who were diagnosed with the virus, six have been fully cured, while the rest are being treated in the Ram Manohar Lohia, Bhimrao Ambedkar and Loknayak Jai Prakash hospitals.
“There is no need to close the schools. We only need to be careful and take precautions about the disease. The preventive measures have been sent to the schools and principals have been asked to tell the students about the do’s and don’ts to avoid the disease,” Walia said.
Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Wednesday said that there are 322 cases of swine flu in India, a sizable number of which were “imported cases” from the US. He said the government is upgrading 16 more laboratories to tackle the virus.