Swine flu claims eight lives in Gujarat as toll reaches 247

As many as eight more people succumbed to swine flu today, taking the total death toll in Gujarat to 247, since January this year, an official statement issued by the health department said.
"Swine flu claimed three lives in Ahmedabad today and two lives in Mehsana districts, while one fatality each has been reported from Surat, Bhavnagar and Amreli districts," the statement said.
It added that the total number of deaths due to swine flu reached 247 since January this year.
Gujarat recorded 181 new swine flu cases today it said, adding that the total number of cases have gone upto 3,950 from January this year.

The Bhavnagar district collector also invoked Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) today as a measure to curb swine flu.
"We have imposed a prohibition over mass gatherings except marriages and death rituals by invoking the section only to curb increasing swine flu in the district," Bhavnagar District Collector P K Solanki told reporters today.
Earlier, Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Bharuch district collector had invoked Section 144 of the CrPC to prevent swine flu, while the Mehsana district collector had issued a notification prohibiting mass gatherings without prior permission.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat government filed an affidavit before the Gujarat High Court today claiming that proper steps have been taken to curb swine flu.