Ten people in NSW are now being tested for swine flu, including four patients in the state's south.
NSW Premier Nathan Rees confirmed four suspected cases of the potentially deadly virus had been detected within the Greater Southern Area Health Service.
Two cases were in Albury, one in Yass and one in Queanbeyan.
The number of suspected NSW cases rose to 10 today after five were reported yesterday - four Sydney residents and one person from the Central Coast.
Swine flu facts: What is it? How do people become infected? Wollongong Hospital braces for swine fluVIDEO: Swine flu ad from 1976 becomes YouTube hitTwo of those people had since been cleared, however new cases emerged today.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said NSW had also activated its pandemic plan, following on from Queensland which activated its plan this morning.
Dr Chant said the test results of the 10 people should be known within the next 24 hours.
The patients had all been given Tamiflu and had been urged to stay at home.
"These people would have been to Mexico, the US or Canada and obviously we are monitoring their situations closely," Dr Chant said.
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S WINE FLU SNAPSHOT
Mexico: 152 'probable' deaths and 1,614 suspected infections Confirmed infections: Britain 2, Canada 6 (+10 to 12 suspected), Spain 1 (+26 suspected), United States 44 Suspected infections: Australia 17, Chile 8, Colombia 9, Denmark 5, France 1, Ireland 3, Israel 1, New Zealand 66, South Korea 1, Sweden 5, Switzerland 5 ____________________
Swine flu is thought to have killed 149 people in Mexico, and almost 2000 others are believed to have been infected.
The World Health Organisation has raised its global alert level on the virus to Phase 4, which means there is sustained human-to-human transmission in at least one country. Level six is a fully fledged pandemic.
The Mexican government had closed local schools and banned major cultural and sporting events that attract large numbers of people in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.
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