WHO is still on 5 alert

PANAMA. Another school was closed in the capital city after a new confirmed case of A/H1N1 flu.

The Chinese Panamanian School (Colegio Chino-Panameño) will be close for at least three days until the classrooms are disinfected.

Until Monday there have been 55 confirmed cases of swine flu in Panama.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation Monday cautioned against declaring a full-fledged swine flu pandemic yet, even as cases in Japan and the United States soared and a New York school vice principal died of the virus.

WHO chief Margaret Chan told member said on the first day of the UN health body's annual assembly, they may be facing a "calm before the storm," but that the organization had so far held off on raising the alert. "We remain in phase five," she said, following speculation the alert would be raised to the maximum six after new cases emerged.