Health chief: stay off work if you feel ill

Dr Julia Peters says workplaces could be breeding grounds for the swine flu virus. Photo / Martin Sykes

The head of Auckland public health says anyone feeling ill should stay away from work while the threat of swine flu hangs over the country.

The number of confirmed swine flu cases rose again yesterday - from 19 to 23 - and Dr Julia Peters warned workplaces could be breeding grounds for the virus.

But unions say people will be afraid to call in sick during a recession when money is tight and question marks hang over jobs.

There were 92 people in quarantine yesterday in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hawkes Bay.

Dr Peters said New Zealanders were a conscientious bunch and "we don't like to put our colleagues under pressure" by calling in sick.

Andrew Little, national secretary of the engineering, printing and manufacturing union, said workers knew there was potential for being laid off.

"If they take a day off work they think they are putting themselves at risk of redundancy."

Meanwhile, a dozen New Zealand Qualifications Authority staff in Wellington have been quarantined after a colleague contracted swine flu.

The virus is also suspected in 16 Gisborne Boys' High School students who recently returned from Brisbane.

A New Zealand woman has been diagnosed as Malaysia's ninth official swine flu victim.

The woman arrived there on Friday, on the same flight as a 15-year-old Australian girl who had also been confirmed as a victim.

- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: NZPA