We got the confirmation that the woman was suffering from swine flu only Wednesday night,' added Prasad.

According to hospital sources, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), where the test was done, confirmed that Rupa was suffering from H1N1 virus late Wednesday night.

With this, India's swine flu toll has reached 21. Apart from 16 deaths in Maharashtra, one death each has been reported from Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram.

Since Reeda Sheikh, 14 -year-old schoolgirl died of swine flu in Pune Aug 3, authorities across the country have been on alert and efforts are on to contain the spread of the virus.

At least three cases continue to be critical in the Sassoon Hospital and two in Mumbai's Hiranandani Hospital, the official said.

In a bid to curb the spread of the contagious virus, authorities have ordered cinema halls and multiplexes in Pune to remain shut till Aug 18 and the wholesale flower market till Aug 17. The city's vegetable market, ordered closed Thursday afternoon, will reopen Friday noon.

The Maharashtra government also granted permission to five more private hospitals to test and treat swine flu patients - Bharatiya Vidyapeeth, Dinanth Mangeshkar Hospital, Sahyadri Hospital and Nobel Hospital, and KEM Hospital.

For the first time, two senior political leaders, Suresh Kalmadi of the Congress who represents Pune in the Lok Sabha, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Prakash Jawadekar visited several hospitals where swine flu patients are undergoing treatment.

The district administrations of Satara and Raigad have appealed to people to refrain from visiting the areas for the next few days in view of the swine flu situation.

Raigad District Collector Subhash Sonawane said there are a couple of suspected swine flu cases in the district, while Satara District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said the district has 31 positive cases and seven suspected swine flu patients.

'We shall not enforce it (the advisory) in any manner, it's a precautionary measure since Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are popular hill stations which attract huge crowds during weekends and festivals,' Deshmukh told IANS.