The number of locally-infected cases of the A/H1N1 flu in China is expected to exceed that of imported ones among newly reported cases in the near future, a health ministry official said on Monday.

"As the total number of infected people increases, a cluster outbreak of A/H1N1 flu in communities is likely to happen at any time, and serious cases or even fatalities are highly possible," said Liang Wannian, vice director of the emergency office under the Health Ministry, at a press conference .

The Chinese mainland reported 1,040 A/H1N1 flu cases as of 6 p.m. Sunday, with no serious cases or fatalities so far. Among the infected, 758 were "imported" cases, the ministry's figures showed.

With the rising number of cases, China will gradually adjust its prevention and control measures by stopping hospitalizing flu victims with minor symptoms, he said.

Under the adjustment, people in close contact with the patients could be observed at home instead of being put in a specially reserved place for quarantine, which was a common practice previously, according to the official.

The Ministry of Health would intensify prevention measures in schools and local communities to curb the virus spread, he said.

To reduce the possibility of mass infection, the Ministry of Education (MOE) had ordered schools across the country to conclude the term at an early date as long as they finished their teaching schedule and exams.

"In Beijing, Shanghai, Fujian, Sichuan and Guangdong provinces, all campus activities usually held before each semester ends have been shortened, even the graduation ceremony was simplified," an MOE official Liao Wenke said at the same press conference.

The earliest detections of clustering flu cases in the country were at schools. After the flu outbreak in a primary school in Beijing on July 3, the school started its summer vacation a week ahead of schedule.

School summer holidays usually started in late June or early July in China.

(Xinhua News Agency July 7, 2009)