Events dropped in swine flu scare

The school has been closed until 11 May as a precaution

Two public events connected with a Devon school closed after a case of swine flu have been cancelled.

A 12-year-old pupil at Paignton Community and Sports College was diagnosed with swine flu on Wednesday.

The girl, who had returned from holiday in Mexico, is recovering well. The school has been closed until 11 May.

Sports awards for youngsters, including some from the school, have been cancelled and a football game featuring players from the school was cancelled.

The Torbay Sports Personality of the Year Awards had been due to take place at the Riveria Centre on Friday but will now take place on 12 June.

Mayor of Torbay Nick Bye said: "Many of the nominated finalists and supporters of the event are from Paignton Community and Sports College.

"Therefore it was felt inappropriate to run such an event when the college has been closed as a precautionary measure."

He added: "Torbay is looking forward to a busy bank holiday weekend.

"The clear message is that 'life carries on as normal'."

The South Devon Football League fixture between Denbury and Paignton Saints was also cancelled because a number of Saints players were from the school.

I hope this isn't the calm before the storm Karen O'Brien, Bay Pharmacy

Janie Finnebraaten, who runs a bed and breakfast in Paignton, said she had only two bookings for the weekend when she would normally be full.

She said: "It's partly the recession, but the swine flu case has put people off.

"It's so frustrating, but there's nothing you can do about it."

Pharmacists said an initial rush for face masks after the case was revealed on Wednesday had calmed down.

Karen O'Brien of Bay Pharmacy said: "The first day was frantic because people did not know what was going on.

"But there may be more cases than we know about at the moment.

"I hope this isn't the calm before the storm."

About 12 people in Devon with possible swine flu are waiting for test results.

Paignton GP Dr David Turner warned there was a shortage of swabs for testing patients.

But the Health Protection Agency said it did not believe there was a problem with the supply of swabs in Torbay.

It said when there was a case which required testing, it would supply the GP with the swabs which were needed.

According to the agency, the number of confirmed cases in the UK has risen to 13.

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