Three more schools in Queens of New York City will be temporarily closed over A/H1N1 flu concern, thus bringing the total schools closed over the concern to nine, the city announced Sunday.

Starting on Monday, the newest closings are in addition to three other schools that will not be open this week as well as three others that were closed last week.

Local channel NY1 quoted Scott Harper of the New York City Department of Health as saying Sunday that "We've been monitoring schools for absenteeism and cases of influenza-like illness that present to the school nurses on a daily basis and these three schools as we looked at their numbers over the last few days looked like it would be prudent to close them as we've closed other schools."

The schools previously announced as closing Monday will remain closed for at least five days while crews work to sanitize the buildings.

They join the first three which will be closed through Thursday.

Only one school has confirmed A/H1N1 cases. Among the infected in the school, assistant principal Mitchell Wiener died Sunday evening, the first A/H1N1 death in New York State.

All of the other schools reported a high number of students complaining of flu-like symptoms.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2009)