People waiting for their turn at the H1N1 screening centre at the Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai on Monday.

The swine flu scare has begun to grip the country with Pune, the worst hit, accounting for 221 of the 327 cases reported in Maharashtra thus far.

Across the country, 864 people have been affected, of whom, 523 have been treated and discharged; the rest are still under treatment.

The death toll has now risen to seven, with Pune heading the list with four, followed by one each in Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.

The latest victim in Pune was a 35-year-old pharmacist who died on Monday. Earlier in the day, a 36-year-old ayurvedic doctor succumbed to the virus after three days in Sassoon Hospital.

The city administration has now directed all educational institutions to remain closed for a week beginning Tuesday. Theatres and multiplexes will also remain shut for three days.

The State Government also permitted eight private hospitals — Sahyadri, Nobel, Bharati, Dinanath Mangeshkar, KEM, Lokmanya Miramai and Ruby Hall — to treat patients.

In addition to a slight thinning of traffic on Pune’s usually bursting-to-the-seams streets, the first sign of a contagion in the air is the growing number of citizens donning masks. Impromptu mask vendors have sprung up along busy avenues and at traffic junctions.

In business establishments, IT, BPO and manufacturing units, there is no sense of panic and, for the most part, it is business as usual.

“For the past five weeks we have being stressing on better personal hygiene and the only added precaution we are taking now is that all those who return from travel are closely monitored for 48 hours,” said Mr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies.

A spokesperson for Cognizant said, “We have set up a toll free number to support our employees and their family members. This number is staffed 24/7 and supported by qualified physicians and doctors.”

Some Mumbai schools have been closed till Sunday as a few children were found H1N1-positive. Multiplexes in the city have intensified hygiene programmes.

There has been no impact on travel going by what airlines and hotels say about bookings remaining intact.

“Leisure travel will begin only towards the end of the year. There is no negative trend in the corporate travel segment too,” said a Mumbai-based travel expert.

source: BL