Some hospitals back home have reportedly started turning away people who show symptoms of influenza A (H1N1) even as the number of swine flu cases rose to 92 on Thursday. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III warned that hospitals that refuse to treat suspected H1N1 cases could have their licenses revoked and PhilHealth insurance payments scrapped. “I already warned them. I told them they will be charged, and they will lose their licenses and have their PhilHealth payments cut off,” he said in the vernacular during a radio interview. The health chief, however, did not name the hospitals that refused to admit people with swine flu symptoms. On Thursday, the Department of Health (DOH) announced that 15 more Filipinos have been infected with the virus, bringing the toll of confirmed cases in the Philippines to 92. Duque said the 15 cases are “all mild in nature,” noting that four of them travelled to Japan, Singapore, Mexico, and the United States. He said “contact tracing of said new cases is ongoing.” Duque said of the 92 infected patients, 32 have fully recovered and have been discharged from hospitals. He said the government's new strategy against the H1N1 virus is to treat it as just an “ordinary” disease so as not to cause public panic. In line with this, Duque said the DOH will limit its updates on the virus to twice a week instead of daily. He said 19 of the 23 new cases were Filipinos while the rest were foreigners. Seven of the new cases recently traveled to the United States and Japan, he said. The new cases emerged in several schools, including the De La Salle University (DLSU), East Asia College, De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, St. Andrew's School Para?aque, and Ateneo de Manila High School. Health authorities also reported two confirmed swine flu cases in the provinces – one in Jaen, Nueva Ecija and another in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
