Kavarna mayor Tsonko Tsonev has declared that between November 2 and November 9 three kindergartens and three schools are to be sealed off in light of the growing number of people affected by the strain, Dnevnik daily reported on November 2 2009.

According to local authorities, in the secondary school Stefan Karadja alone, more than 40 per cent of students have manifested pronounced respiratory complications -  symptoms associated with the influenza - and are awaiting an official municipal order to close the school.

Primary school Yordan Yovkov is also due to be shut, as well as a school in the village of Belgun. Meanwhile, the Bratya Miladinovi primary school in Kavarna is already closed because a medical inspection in the facility determined that more than 26 per cent of students were infected.

In neighbouring Romania,76 cases of the influenza were confirmed over the weekend, according to the local publication Evenimentul Zilei, cited by Focus news agency on November 2 2009.

With the latest addition, this means that the total number of people affected in the country currently receiving treatment stands at 500.

"This is the largest number of cases registered overnight," said Alexander Rafila, member of the health ministry's emergency agency dealing with the influenza.

On November 1, about 40 people were confirmed sick at the Sinaia Hotel, including some foreign tourists. The establishment has been sealed off for 48 hours and all tourists will be isolated in infectious diseases wards.