Dayal said they have already issued guidelines regarding swine flu to schools as it is mostly affecting children.

Asked if the government has issued any guidelines of closing down the schools, he said: 'Guidelines are very clear. If a child is suffering from swine flu virus he should not come to school and get himself isolated. We have not recommended closing down of schools.'

He said they are monitoring the situation and would take action and review the situation following the girl's death.

Dayal also said the government has enough stock of anti-flu medicines and if the need arose they would be able to acquire more. Since Tamiflu is available only in select government hospitals, Dayal said the government would review the situation.

Most of the cases are being reported from the metros as the infected people were returning from foreign jaunts.

'(More cases) will happen,' he said, adding that at the time people return to India they do not exhibit symptoms of the flu, which has an incubation period of seven-10 days. 'The symptoms develop later,' Dayal said.

He added that one third of the people who test positive for swine flu are those identified at the entry point, while the rest are cases who report themselves later.

'The infection is largely from abroad and is mainly confined to cities. No case has been reported from rural areas,' he added.

Dayal stressed that testing for swine flu can't be done in private hospitals.

'Testing can't be done in every hospital lab. Certain care has to be taken while taking samples. The doctor or the technician has to wear protective gear. If it is not taken carefully, more people could be infected,' he added.

Asked if India has handled the swine flu cases properly, he said: 'We have handled it better than other countries. We have only one death from the virus.'

On Monday, seven positive cases were reported in the country - Delhi (2), Pune (3), Chennai (1) and Ahmedabad (1).

Health officials said an 11-year-old boy in Delhi contracted the virus from another person.

Pune continued to report swine flu, with three new cases, including two children. They contracted the virus in school.

In Chennai, an eight-year-old boy, who had arrived from Muscat on July 29, tested positive.

In Ahmedabad, a 27 year-old woman doctor who was on airport screening duty, reported with flu-like symptoms on July 30.

In Maharashtra, the number of cases rose to 147 Monday - with 102 in Pune, 20 in Mumbai, 23 in the hill-station of Panchgani, and two in Thane.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) till July 27, about 134,503 laboratory confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) have been reported. About 816 deaths have been reported, mostly from Mexico and the US.