By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff Reporter

The government raised the country's flu alert status to the highest level Tuesday, as part of measures to contain the highly contagious H1N1 influenza A that has so far killed 42 people. The government will set up a central office to oversee countermeasures against the disease.

It also will start vaccinating students from next week through the assistance of army medical officers, however, closing schools to prevent further spread was left up to individual headmasters.

The state is also debating whether or not to use Peramivir, an anti-viral injection that is considered more effective than Tamiflu.

"This upgrade means the administration will do its best to deal with the flu as the number of patients has increased sharply," a government official said. "We have already implemented preventive measures in accordance with the highest level and they will not cause big changes to everyday life."

The warning levels for contagious diseases are classified as "Blue" (attention), "Yellow" (alert), "Orange" (alarm) and "Red" (serious).

President Lee Myung-bak told ministries and local governments to cooperate in minimizing public anxiety over the swine flu epidemic at a Cabinet meeting, Tuesday.

Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Minister Jeon Jae-hee reported the elevation of the warning level to the President.

"Containing the flu is not only the responsibility of the health ministry, but all ministries and offices should be involved," the President said. "Systematic collaboration among government agencies is necessary for prevention, inoculation and treatment."

The governmental Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for the new influenza will be launched as early as today. This is the first such office organized for an epidemic.

The Minister of Public Administration and Security will run the CDSCH and high-ranking officials from all ministries will be mobilized to combat the flu.

The death toll rose to 42 Tuesday morning after a 71-year-old male cancer patient and a man in his 40s were confirmed to have died from the H1N1 virus. The latter, had been considered as "healthy," indicating that any person in any age group can contract the disease.

Both are suspected of having been infected in hospitals.

meeyoo@koreatimes.co.kr