A total of 179 people were in isolation around New Zealand as the number of cases of suspected swine flu continued to climb, said Health Ministry officials on Wednesday.

The officials said on Tuesday night there are at least three confirmed cases of swine flu in New Zealand: all from a Rangitoto College group who returned from Mexico early on Saturday.

They said results from three of the 11 samples of the students who tested positive to Influenza A on Sunday, have also tested positive for Swine Flu H1N1.

They assumed that all the 11 people in the group, who had tested positive for Influenza A, have Swine Flu.

On Wednesday morning, the Auckland Hospital lab has confirmed three more people with influenza A - which points to swine flu.

The government is expected to pass an order in Council on Wednesday adding swine flu to the list of notifiable diseases.

Meanwhile, a further two people showing flu-like symptoms were intercepted by officials at Auckland International Airport on Wednesday morning.

New Zealand became the sixth country in the world to have confirmed cases of the virus.

(Xinhua News Agency Apirl 29, 2009)