"According to the latest reports, 26 persons have succumbed to H1N1 in Punjab so far," said Deepak Bhatia, State Surveillance Officer of Punjab Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.
He said that a maximum number of six persons have died in Amritsar district.
Out of over 165 suspected patients of swine flu in the state, 71 have tested positive so far for the H1N1 virus, the official said.
As part of the Centre's guidelines issued to combat the flu, health workers have been asked to screen people with symptoms of the flu on the basis of their severity and categorise them, Bhatia added.
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Bhatia said an advisory has been issued to both government and private schools to send students showing symptoms of swine flu on a five-day leave.
"The instructions have been issued to all government and private schools in the state in this regard," he said.
Meanwhile, health officials of both Punjab and Haryana maintain that the situation is "under control" and hospitals are well equipped to take care of patients and there was no need for panic.