The Afghan government on Monday declared H1N1 to be a health emergency and ordered the closing of schools for three weeks in an effort to contain the virus, after the country suffered its first death from H1N1 last week, Reuters reports. The government has also advised against public gatherings. "Nearly 350 positive cases of H1N1 have been detected among foreigners and Afghans and several hundred more people are suspected to be infected, [Farid Raaid,] a public health ministry spokesman said," the news service reports. According to Raaid, the WHO plans to offer the country one million doses of the H1N1 vaccine (Salahuddin, 11/2).

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