CAIRO: Eight deaths on Sunday brought the death toll of the HINI virus in Egypt to 56, with officials predicting that the number will reach 100 by the end of December.
According to a statement Sunday by the Minister of Health Hatem El-Gabaly, he also predicted that the toll will continue to rise well into January and February of next year.
On popular talk show “El-Beit Beitak, aired on state television, El-Gabaly advised women not to become pregnant in the months leading up to April, pointing to a higher risk posed by the pregnancy.
However, he assured that there is no scientific evidence that suggests that pregnant women will die if infected with the virus.
On the temporary shutting down of schools, El-Gabaly said that the decision to close a school is administered by a high ministerial committee, which takes decisions according to the exact numbers of students suffering a respiratory infection pr high ferver. He pointed to the fact that 99 percent of such cases are later discovered to be symptoms of the common flu and are easily treated.
Egypt has to date recorded a total of 4,792 swine flu cases, of which 937 were discovered only last week. -Daily News Egypt
