Ukraine closes all schools to fight H1N1 flu

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-03 02:12

Children wearing protective masks play in central square in the Ukrainian capital Kiev November 2, 2009. [Agencies]

KIEV, Ukraine: Urging its citizens not to panic, Ukraine on Monday closed down all schools nationwide for a week to avoid the spread of A(H1N1) flu and suggested that nightclubs, cinemas and food markets in the west also shut down.

The World Health Organization said Monday there was no evidence that Ukraine had a bad outbreak of A(H1N1) flu but at the government's request it had sent a health team in to help the country cope.

"But this is not an indication that the situation is severe," said WHO spokeswoman Liuba Negru. "The information we have gotten (from the government), we have to double-check it and make sure it is real, evidence-based information."

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Ukraine's Health Ministry said Monday that 67 people in the nation of 40 million have died of flu, but did not say how many of those deaths were related to A(H1N1) flu. Worldwide, outbreaks of regular seasonal flu claim 50,000 lives each year.

Nevertheless, all schools have been closed for a week across Ukraine, even in the capital, Kiev, where there have been no confirmed cases of the disease.

In western Ukraine, local authorities advised people to travel only when necessary, a Health Ministry spokeswoman said.

All outdoor markets have been closed in the western region of Lviv, where the governor also urged cinemas, cafes, nightclubs and theaters to shut down until further notice.

Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko met a Swiss shipment of anti-viral drugs at the Kiev airport on Monday.

"The government has declared the situation an epidemic, but there is absolutely no need to panic," she declared on national television.

After receiving the shipment of 300,000 doses of Tamiflu at Kiev's Borispol airport, Tymoshenko said her government plans to increase its hoard of the drug by another 300,000 to 950,000 doses.

"This is the supply that will reliably protect Ukraine," Tymoshenko said, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.