[caption id="attachment_61290" align="alignleft" width="300"] Health clinics are working extra hours to provide free flu vaccinations[/caption]

AT LAST COUNT  over 310 people  have been hospitalized with influenza in the last 24 hours and five   more have died from A(H1N1), bringing the number of deaths to  10  says a Ministry of Health (MoH) report.

The pressure on available bed has forced the Ministry to utilize a facility built for cases of Ebola in the December 24 Township

One of the deaths caused by A (H1N1) is a one year old child from, Nata, Cocle.

The Cocle  regional MoH director, Ana Maria Martin, said that the girl arrived at the Regional Hospital Rafael Estevez in Aguadulce  and was later moved to Panama City, but died on the way.

The other death from the disease is a 78 year-old male.

Health Minister, Francisco Javier Terrientes, confirmed that throughout the country there are 310 people hospitalized because of influenza.

Of that total, 176 are in MoH facilities and 134 in the Social Security Fund (CSS).

A total of 35 people are in intensive care (21 in the MoH and 14 in CSS).

Terrientes said that despite the increase in cases, the Ministry still cannot say that it is facing an epidemic.

HEALTH ALERT
He said  that the Cabinet approved a health alert became  official for the whole country.

The decree authorizes  the MoH to seek the support of all government agencies in promotion and disease prevention and exempted from some requirements to make purchases required to address the health situation.

Minister said the World Health Organization will deliver 500,000 doses of influenza vaccine, but local purchases  have been made in the private sector.

Terrientes said that although thy don’t want to deny the  vaccine to  anyone, they  are giving priority to children under 5 years of age, those over 60 years of age, pregnant women, people with chronic diseases and health workers.

Following the epidemiological alert for cases caused by the virus A (H1N1), health authorities took the decision to reactivate the Referral Center for Infectious Diseases, located on the fourth floor of the hospital Irma de Lourdes Tzanetatos, in  December 24, east of the capital city.

The Referral Center for Infectious Diseases was created at a cost of $1.2 million dollars during  the ebola global emergency to handle potential  cases of ebola.