Jalandhar: A big cause of worry is people with swine flu like symptoms not reporting them, perhaps one reason for that is quarantine in a government hospital which means you are kept away from your family and friends since the virus is so contagious.
While doctors say it's the only way to contain the disease, parents of the children who have been isolated in Jalandhar are protesting -- claiming their kids are being treated like prisoners.
At the isolation ward at Jalandhar Civil Hospital the day passes in endless hours of wait.
Last week 31 students of Guru Amar Dass Public School returned from a school trip to NASA space centres in Houston and Florida. Within hours eight of them tested positive for the H1N1 virus. Six more showed symptoms of the flu.
They are quarantined here since Sunday allowed to meet parents from a distance for about few minutes a day.
"For days they are inside like prisoners. That is what is disturbing the kids most. You know kids can't sit for half an hour in one place," said G S Kohli, parent.
Anybody who comes to the hospital and is admitted with swine flu symptoms is kept is an isolation ward for at least seven days even if the report is negative.
So, even though three of them have tested negative they will have to go through the quarantine.