The death toll due to swine flu has reached 24 in Odisha while 281 people have tested positive so far, a health official said on Friday.

Of the 31 swab samples, 11 tested positive on Friday. A total 810 samples have been tested while 281 people have tested positive for the H1N1 virus so far, the official said.The Health and Family Welfare Department had earlier issued guidelines for private and government hospitals for the treatment of patients suffering from the H1N1 virus.Meanwhile, the state government has constituted a 16-member committee to develop a roadmap to identify the backlog of curable blindness and to achieve a target of more than 25 per cent reduction in blindness by 2022.

The empowered committee will recommend and promote standards to implement, monitor and provide oversight for seamless implementation of a Universal Eye Care Programme in the state here.It will provide guidance on operationalising the Universal Eye Care goals through building a cadre of skilled medical and paramedical workforce. It will also formulate a plan to integrate eye care services within the primary and secondary care and strengthen referral to the higher level.