Swine flu has shut down schools in Rajasthan’s Ajmer town.
All schools will be closed for the remaining week, but the prestigious boarding school Mayo College will have an extended winter break — from November 17 to January 10.
Ten students of the Mayo Girls College tested positive for the H1N1 virus late Sunday. The girls have been admitted to the isolation ward of the school’s medical centre. A team of doctors from the local hospitals was screening all other students before sending them home.
Both Mayo Girls College and Mayo Boys College were due to break for winter from December 6 to January 10.
“All the 10 girls are in the isolation ward and they are on medication… The girls is fine and their parents have been informed,” Ajmer Chief Medical Officer B.L. Fanan said.
Local media said 20 days ago German students visited schools here for a cultural meet. The principal, however, dismissed as rumours the speculation that someone from the group might have spread the flu.
“We have closed the school and children are leaving for their homes,” said Jamila Singh, principal, Mayo Girls.
Mayo Boys principal Samar Bhaduri said the school was being closed as a precautionary measure.