By RICHARDSON DHALAI Sunday, October 18 2009

Fewer persons sought treatment for flu symptoms at the San Fernando General Hospital yesterday, where three men and a woman died from the Influenza A/H1N1 virus, or swine flu, last week.

There were no new cases reported yesterday and those screened at a tent outside the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital were treated for the common cold.

There were fewer persons in the inner waiting room of the A&E department.

Nurses, security personnel and patients still wore masks yesterday as the lower turnout at the hospital may have been due to the observance of Divali, a public holiday.

A fifth person died at the hospital last week but the cause of death has been listed as seasonal flu, a sub-type of Influenza A which is similar to H1N1.

Apart from the deaths, there were also reports of a confirmed case of H1N1 at the Exchange Presbyterian School, Couva where a standard three student contracted the virus.

Newsday learnt yesterday that the Education Facilities Company Ltd sanitised the school on Friday.

Presbyterian Primary School Board chairman Manan Deo yesterday said he was not certain whether the school would reopen on Monday.

He said teachers were fearful to attend classes until the school was sanitised as well as inspected by public health officials.

There were further reports of unconfirmed cases of H1N1 at Princes Town RC Primary School and Trinity College East, Trincity.

Parents of students who attend Princes Town RC have insisted the school must be sanitised after the sudden death last week of the mother of a student. The woman died, however, from pneumonia.

The Ministry of Health is expected to host another media conference on the virus today.

In a briefing, last Wednesday, the ministry announced two deaths and on Friday it confirmed two more deaths after the South West Regional Authority reported the cases to the media.

Vishraj Maharaj, 30, of Barrackpore, was one of the patients who died from the H1N1 virus.

Another patient, a 28-year-old resident of Penal who got married last month, was also one of the four who died.