The Centre for Health Protection has confirmed seven imported and three local human swine flu cases today, involving seven women and three men.

Centre controller Dr Thomas Tsang today said the imported cases involved two girls aged eight and 15, and a 21-year-old women who flew in from the Philippines, two men aged 26 and 46, and a 10-year-old girl from the US, and a 49-year-old woman from Canada.

Two of the local cases involved family members of two St Paul's Convent School students who had been confirmed to have the virus. They include a 13-year-old sister and a 53-year-old father. Another local case involved a 13-year-old student of the same school. All patients are stable and being treated in hospital. 

On the World Health Organisation's move to escalating the pandemic alert to level six, Dr Tsang said Hong Kong has already prepared for the development, adding the city's strategy is moving from containment to mitigation phase.

The health authorities will place more emphasis on providing treatment to affected patients and will scale down some containment measures.