The Massachusetts health department on Thursday announced that the number of confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases in the state has reached 1153, while at least nine schools remain closed because of the flu outbreak.

The department said in a news release that only 80 patients have been hospitalized due to symptoms, but there have been no deaths in the state.

On Friday, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on its website that the state of Massachusetts had 787 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 flu.

"The CDC said that A/H1N1 flu has spread to every state in the nation. Likewise, every county in Massachusetts has seen confirmed cases of H1N1 flu," said the department.

Many schools, particularly in Eastern Massachusetts, continue to feel the brunt of the A/H1N1 outbreak, the department admitted, saying that eight schools in Boston and one in Randolph have been closed for days because of the A/H1N1 flu.

Commenting on the raising of the global pandemic alert level to Phase 6 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the department said the WHO’s declaration was expected, given the A/H1N1 flu has spread rapidly throughout the world including here in Massachusetts.

"It is important to note that the WHO pandemic phases are based on the geographical spread of a novel influenza virus, not the severity of illness," the department said.

"It does not change how we are currently dealing with the outbreak here in Massachusetts. We have taken this outbreak very seriously from the beginning and have been on a heightened state of alert since the first case was identified in the United States," the department asserted, saying the state will continue to work with partners at the local, state and federal levels on the A/H1N1 response in Massachusetts.

"We have been preparing for a pandemic for years and will continue to direct and adjust our response as needed based on what we are seeing here in Massachusetts and elsewhere," the department explained.

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2009)