Speaking on morning TV, Health Minister Ab Klink says an average of ten people a day are being hospitalised with A(H1N1) flu, with one in ten taken into intensive care.

A spokesman for the Dutch Hospitals Association says no problems are anticipated with the capacity of intensive care units.
 

Ten million of the 34 million doses of vaccine ordered by the Dutch government will become available this year, enough to inoculate all existing high-risk groups. That means the over-60s, pregnant women and people with diabetes, heart diseases and respiratory problems.
 

The Health Council of the Netherlands has been considering whether children should also be inoculated and will publish its recommendations next week. Mr Klink said he thought there was a "fairly good chance" that children would be added to the high-risk groups.
 

An estimated 2.7 million doses of flu vaccine are available this year for children. This would cover the vaccination of all children up to the age of five. If teenagers also need to be vaccinated, there will be not be enough for all high-risk groups.
 

Mr Klink said, "We may then be faced with a complicated process of prioritisation".