Gharyan Municipality has ordered the closure of schools on Wednesday and Thursday due to the volume of illness among students and staff in the city's education facilities.
The municipality said it will suspend kindergarten, junior, and intermediate classes to help reduce the spread of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Local officials met on Tuesday to assess the health situation in the city in the wake of the RSV outbreak.
Gharyan Central Teaching Hospital declared a state of emergency after the pediatric department received more than 200 cases within 24 hours following the spread of the virus in schools.
The hospital said its pediatric department is at full capacity amid the lack of medical and paramedical personnel, expressing readiness to double the clinical capacity if it finds more staff.
It urged the Health Ministry and the competent authorities to take swift action as flu cases continue to rise, saying it is open to cooperation contracts with doctors in the pediatric department to fill the shortage.
