More than 10,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in the country; 671 people have died of it. Cases have now been reported in Nagaland.
Here are the latest updates:
The central government has said that 10,025 people have suffered from swine flu so far this year, a new high in recent year.
191 people have died in Rajasthan, 155 in Gujarat and 90 in Madhya Pradesh, the three worst-hit states. Gujarat also recorded 255 new cases of swine flu on Wednesday, the highest in a single day.
In Punjab, 24 people have died of swine flu and 17 have died in neighbouring Haryana. Six people have died in Uttar Pradesh.
In Jammu and Kashmir, two people infected with the H1N1 virus have died and 71 others have tested positive.
Union Health Minister JP Nadda has said there is no dearth of medicines and hospitals are equipped to deal with swine flu. "There have been cases when patients have reported late hence problems were caused; early reporting of such cases is essential," he said.
He said the central government is monitoring this on a day-to-day basis. "All hospitals have been equipped with isolation wards and adequate medicines have been made available," he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has capped the cost of the test for swine flu at Rs 4,500. "The maximum rate for swine flu tests will be 4500/-. Clinics can charge less but not more," said Delhi's Health Minister Satyendra Jain.
The move comes following complaints that tests are being conducted at exorbitant rates in the city's private labs. Mr Jain said some were charging up to Rs 10,000.
The Delhi government has also issued a helpline number where people can call for all information on swine flu. The number is 22307145.
The Centre's Health Ministry has started a new testing facility at Delhi's All India Institute for Medical Sciences (AIIMS) while a round-the-clock monitoring cell is now in operation at the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
