Via The Australian: Plan to treat, not contain swine flu. Excerpt:
Federal health authorities are considering abandoning the strategy of quarantining people who come into contact with swine flu, with the virus now outstripping Victorian attempts to contain it.
Last night[May 31] there were 303 confirmed cases of swine flu in Australia of which 212 were in Victoria. In the past 24 hours 39 new cases were diagnosed in that state, and again the majority were school-aged children.
As a result, six more schools will close today, bringing the total number of closures in Victoria to 11. Two secondary schools in far north Queensland will also close this week after two girls in Cairns tested positive for the virus over the weekend, bringing the Queensland tally to 20.
Parents of Year 8 children at St Monica’s and St Mary’s in Cairns were yesterday briefed by public health officials on the infections. While health authorities were not giving any official reasons how the virus entered far north Queensland, it is believed that one of the girls recently returned from overseas, and she passed it on to the other girl. The mother of one of the girls has also tested positive.
