BALI TIGHTENS CONTROL ON INFLOW OF TOURISTS OVER SWINE FLU CASE

Denpasar, June 25 (ANTARA) - Authorities in Bali are tightening control over the inflow of tourists, particularly foreign ones, at each of the gates into the Indonesian tourist resort province of Bali, a local health official said.

Equipped with thermal scanners installed in ports, officials were seen busy checking tourist arriving at Ngurah Rai airport.

Head of Bali's health service Nyoman Sutedja said the supervision at Bali's entry gates was tightened following a case where British national Bobie Masoner (22) had been confirmed to contract the H1N1 strain of virus.

"The laboratory test indicated that Masoner, who had been treated at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar since early this week, was positively carrier of the swine flu virus," he said.

In this connection, Sutedja said he had instructed his rank and file to tighten control over the inflow of human visitors to the island of gods.

Indonesian Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari announced on Wednesday that two patients had positively infected with the swine flu virus or H1N1 based on laboratory tests.

The two swine flu infected people are a pilot identified as WA (37) from Jakarta and BM (22), a British national who was visiting Bali.

WA visited Australia on June 14 and Hong Kong on June 18. On June 19, he suffered from fever and went to see a doctor at Sulianti Saroso hospital in Jakarta and until now he is still being treated there.

BM arrived in Bali on June 19 and with a health alert card was admitted to the Sanglah Hospital in Bali on June 20.

"The health conditions of the two patients are relatively good but they are still isolated in the hospital," the minister said.

Supari said that the two patients would be allowed to move out of the isolation rooms only after they were declared free from the H1N1 virus, or recovered from the disease.***3***