As part of the measures to combat the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, 17 provinces in Argentina have suspended classes including Buenos Aires province and City: Santiago del Estero, Entre Ríos, Corrientes, Santa Fe, Santa Cruz, Neuquén, Misiones, Córdoba, Catamarca, San Luis, Río Negro, Chaco, Mendoza, La Pampa and Tierra del Fuego.

The high schools of the Buenos Aires University — Pelegrini, Nacional Buenos Aires, ILSE — suspended classes, to prevent a possible outbreak of the disease.

The members of the Supreme Court of Justice are meeting today to analyze which measures to adopt as a result of the outbreak of swine flu, judicial sources said.

The court is expected to suspend judicial activity for a few weeks, to prevent contagions among public servants of the judicial branch.

Meanwhile, the health minister of Buenos Aires province, Claudio Zin, told the press that according to official statistics, "five percent of the swine flu cases can be serious," and that the rest of the cases normally heal without the need to hospitalize the patient. As a result of the winter season, Zin said, the outbreak of swine flu is expected to peak in two weeks.

Government authorities from the province and City of Buenos Aires have decided to extend winter holidays, and bring them forward to next Monday. The health emergency has been declared in both districts. Buenos Aires City's Health Minister Jorge Lemus assured that "the City's health system has suficient medications" and that "hospitals are over-crowded, but not colapsed." For the moment, cinemas, theatres, and restaurants will remain open.

The municipality of La Plata authorized pregnant state workers not to attend work to prevent contracting the illness, the government said.

The municipal authorities also suspended classes in all the schools in the city, the capital of Buenos Aires province, and granted medical leaves to workers who are considered "in risk," including asthmatics, workers with low immune defences and with bronchial problems.