The chief minister appealed to the media to refrain from crowding at the government hospitals or screening centres since it created obstacles in the work of the officials and instead contact the concerned designated officials for information and daily updates.

The government has also decided that it would not be practical to distribute face masks (N-95) to all medical and health personnel.

'Hence, we have decided that such masks would be given only to the medicos involved in treating the patients and those coming in contact with them, like family members,' Chavan said.

He said there are 962 suspected H1N1 cases in the state, of which 230 were detected positive. Another 209 patients were discharged after successful treatment, he said.

Chavan announced that the government plans to open more screening and treatment centres in Mumbai and Pune.