Indonesia confirms six new swine flu cases: minister

Three Australian children were among six newly confirmed swine flu cases in Indonesia Sunday, bringing the country's total infections to eight.

Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari said two boys aged 10 and 12 and a girl aged 14 had been on the same flight from Australia to the resort island of Bali as a 22-year-old Briton who had earlier tested positive for the A(H1N1) virus.

Three other new Indonesian cases included two relatives who had visited Singapore and a 22-year-old woman who visited Australia.

"All the six are doing fine," said Supari, adding that the Australians are now being isolated at Bali's Sanglah hospital and the Indonesians at a Jakarta hospital.

No cases had been confirmed in Indonesia until last Wednesday when the Briton and an Indonesian pilot tested positive. Both have since been discharged from hospital, Supari said.

Indonesia last week expressed concern that Australian tourists flocking to Bali's beaches are bringing swine flu into the country, which had so far avoided the worst of the pandemic.

Australia is the worst-hit country in the Asia-Pacific region with over 3,500 swine flu cases and five related deaths.

Supari said that so far there had been no cases of human-to-human transmission in Indonesia and that the country would remain vigilant.

Indonesian authorities earlier in the year increased the use of body temperature scanners at airports and imposed a ban on the import of live pigs and pork products in a bid to combat the disease, which has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

The A(H1N1) influenza, which emerged in Mexico in April, has killed over 260 people worldwide and infected nearly 60,000 people in over 100 countries.

Indonesia to ask tourists to wear masks: minister

Indonesia is planning to ask all people arriving from swine flu-affected countries to wear face masks for at least three days, the health minister said Monday.

The presence of the A(H1N1) virus was confirmed in Indonesia only last week and so far four of the eight known cases have been foreigners.

"Visitors from infected countries should wear masks. It's a precautionary measure we're taking to avoid human-to-human transmission of the virus," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told AFP.

"We'll give them the masks when they arrive at the airports and tell them to wear them for three days."

But the minister said the government had no intention of enforcing the precaution, which could do serious damage to the country's stuttering tourism industry.

"There'll be no penalty if people don't wear them. You can't expect people to wear masks when they're swimming," Supari said, adding the masks would be handed out to visitors as soon as possible depending on funding.

She made the announcement after a ministerial meeting to discuss the swine flu outbreak in Indonesia.

Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie chaired the meeting and said funds would be allocated to pay for the masks, Antara news agency reported. Transportation Minister Jusman Sjafii Djamal also attended.

Supari said last week she was particularly worried about Australian tourists who flock to the famous surf beaches of Bali island. More than 300,000 Australian holiday-makers visited the island last year.

Australia is the Asia-Pacific country worst-hit by swine flu with almost 4,000 cases.

Indonesia has been the country hit hardest by avian influenza with 115 deaths since 2005.s

Thailand reports third swine flu death

Thai health authorities confirmed a third death from swine flu after a naval recruit succumbed to the disease on Monday.

The death of the 21-year-old Royal Thai Navy conscript came as the number of confirmed cases of the A(H1N1) virus hit 1,330, a health ministry statement said.

Thailand's first death from swine flu was a 40-year-old woman in Bangkok who died Friday. A 42-year-old man from Chonburi province, 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the capital, died two days later.

Thailand reported its first case of swine flu on May 12.

The virus has infected nearly 60,000 worldwide and killed more than 260, according to the World Health Organisation.