The Philippine health authorities on Monday confirmed five more cases of the A/H1N1 influenza in the country, bringing the Philippines' tally of this new strain of the flu virus to 21.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told a press conference here that among the five latest cases, three were Filipinos returning from the United States while the other two might have contracted the virus late last month in a local wedding where two infected patients from Taiwan were present.

Duque said the five infected patients remain confined in undisclosed medical facilities while the authorities are tracing their close contacts.

The Philippine health authorities had put more than 315 people who developed suspected symptoms under observation. At least 262 patients had been cleared and discharged while 32 others remain quarantined pending laboratory results.

The Department of Education joined the health authorities in activating an alarm system to monitor possible outbreaks in schools as classes resumed on June 1 for most Philippine schools after an almost two-month summer break.

Measures have been taken in schools nationwide to prevent large-scale flu outbreaks.

(Xinhua News Agency June 1, 2009)