Cairo, October 15: Egypt on Thursday announced the closure of a Christian school in Cairo because of swine flu, the education system’s first casualty of the (A)H1N1 virus.
The College of the Mother of God will close for two weeks following the discovery of three swine flu cases among pupils, the health and education ministries said in a statement.
The girls school founded by French Catholic nuns in the 19th century has 1,200 pupils of various faiths.
Last month Egypt delayed the reopening of schools across the country to October 3 as a preventative measure to limit the spread of swine flu. Some classes have previously been scrapped because of the virus but the College of the Mother of God is the first school to close completely.
Foreign-run schools and universities opened at the scheduled date before Egyptian schools but in mid-September the government ordered them to close until October 3 although no swine flu cases had come to light among students or staff.
The health ministry has recorded 1,053 cases of swine flu in Egypt, including three fatalities.
—Agencies