New Delhi, Aug 7 - Swine Flu continued to spread in India as 96 new cases of influenza A(H1N1) were reported Friday, taking the total number of patients in the country to 712, the health ministry said. While Maharashtra alone reported 53 cases, two doctors also tested positive.

The 96 cases reported Friday were in Delhi (12), Gurgaon (6) Pune (37), Mumbai (16), Bangalore (10), Mangalore (3) Hyderabad (4), Chennai (4), Kolkata (3), and Calicut (1), the ministry added.

So far 3,223 people have been tested, of whom 712 are positive for influenza A(H1N). At least 511 have been discharged. A 14-year-old schoolgirl from Pune, Rida Shaikh, succumbed to the virus while the rest are still admitted to identified health facilities and are being treated.

With three doctors having been quarantined on being tested positive for swine flu, the Delhi government Friday issued a set of guidelines to schools, colleges and institutions to check the spread of the disease.

Under the guidelines, the institutions have been asked to keep a watchful eye on any student or staff member with persistent symptoms of cough, cold and fever and to report such cases to local health officers for monitoring.

'The instructions of the Ministry of Health with regard to influenza A(H1N1) have been issued to the schools, colleges and institutions for managing cases of infection,' said Delhi Health Minister Kiran Walia.

'All hospitals under the Delhi government will screen and counsel swine flu patients, but whether they are to be quarantined will depend on the doctor,' she said.

Meanwhile, a Class 6 student of the Sanskriti School in the capital, who was suspected to be down with swine flu Thursday evening, tested negative for the disease Friday after her samples were sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD).