Chandigarh school closes due to swine flu scare

CHANDIGARH - A leading all girls school here in Sector 26 has been closed for a week starting Tuesday because of a fear of swine flu, officials said.

The decision was taken after a class nine student of the Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School tested positive for the influenza A (H1N1) virus Monday.

“Apart from one positive case there were some more students of different classes who were exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Following this, we have closed the school from Nov 24 to 30,” a school spokesperson said.

He added: “This closure is as per precautionary measures suggested by the Chandigarh health department. We do not want to take any chance, however the scheduled exams of class ten and twelve will be held during this week.”

So far, four other private schools and two engineering colleges of this city have been closed after their students exhibited swine flu symptoms.

Over 475 suspected cases have been reported in Chandigarh hospitals out of which over 120 tested positive — nearly half of whom were students.

Four people have died here because of this deadly virus till date.

“We have observed that students are more prone to swine flu in Chandigarh but there is no need to panic. The situation is under control. Regular screening of students is done in their schools and we are also compiling the data of absentees due to this disease,” H.C. Gera, Chandigarh nodal officer for swine flu, told IANS Tuesday.