Students of Lomonosov Private High School in Hanoi with H1 N1 are treated at the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases.

Binh Dinh and Ninh Thuan provinces reported on Monday their first influenza A (H1N1) patients as the flu spread to more apartment buildings, industrial zones and office buildings nationwide.

Officials in the south-central province of Binh Dinh said a 10-yearold child in Quy Nhon Town had tested positive for the flu.

In the south-central province of Ninh Thuan Province, the first three cases included two officials of the province’s Construction Department and a child who lives in the same house with one of them.

In Hanoi, a mother and child living on the 8th floor of CT7B apartment building in Ha Dong District have been confirmed with the flu after a trip to Singapore.

The capital’s health authority on Sunday sterilized the entire floor.

The Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh apartment building in Cau Giay District had earlier reported a foreign patient whose identity has not been disclosed yet.

In Ho Chi Minh City, health authorities found on Monday 16 new cases of the flu including a female employee working on the 13th floor of the Metropolitan building in District 1.

The southern hub’s neighboring province of Dong Nai Monday reported two male and two female workers at the Bien Hoa No. 2 Industrial Zone were also infected with the H1N1 virus. Another worker at Bau Xeo industrial zone in Trang Bom District had been detected with the virus last Wednesday.

The Health Ministry reported 35 new H1N1 cases Monday, raising the country’s tally to 971 including 470 who have recovered fully.

Delayed opening, extra classes

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Vinh Hien told Thanh Nien Monday that schools can open only after obtaining permission from authorized agencies and only students without flu symptoms will be allowed to attend.

The students will attend extra classes later to catch up, Hien said.

Heads of the city and provincial People’s Committee will decide when to close schools in the area in case of outbreaks, he said, adding heads of education and training departments will arrange extra classes for sick students.

The ministry also required canteens and boarding sections at schools to step up hygiene or stop operations temporarily when necessary.

Schools nationwide are still fighting influenza A (H1N1) out of their own budget at present, but Hien said the ministry will provide support when it is needed.

Reported by Thanh Nien staff