The Australian government on Wednesday moved to a new alert level for A/H1N1 flu, creating a category known as protect.

Australian Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the new alert level was based on the best medical evidence available.

"It is especially targeted to those who we know are most likely to have poor outcomes," she told reporters.

It focuses on the early treatment of those most vulnerable to " severe outcomes", including pregnant women and those with underlying conditions such as respiratory disease, heart disease and morbid obesity.

Roxon revealed there were 2,026 cases of A/H1N1 flu in Australia as of Wednesday afternoon.

Currently, there are nine people hospitalized with A/H1N1 flu, seven of them in Victoria, which has had more than 1,200 cases of the disease.

Three of the Victorians are in intensive care.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2009)