There were just three reported cases of swine flu last year but there have been 835 cases and 16 deaths in Mumbai this year till July. Maharashtra has recorded 284 deaths and 2,324 cases till the first week of July. That's almost 50 per cent of the 600 deaths across the country.

Mumbai's civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC is asking those with symptoms to take inspiration from Aamir Khan and stay put at home.

Doctors have been asked to closely monitor high risk groups like pregnant women, elderly groups and people with co-morbid conditions.

To ensure that the medication, Oseltamivir, is readily available across the country, the government has removed it from Schedule X and put it in Schedule H1, which means it can be sold across the counter on prescription. At the moment the state has enough stocks of oseltamivir to tackle this year's outbreak, but if this trend continues the state will need more supplies.