RIGA — The number of Latvians inflected with the swine flu increased dramatically last week according to the latest statistics from the country’s disease control center.

The Latvian Center for Infectious Diseases said Monday that 271 new case of swine flu were reported in last week, up 70 percent from the previous week. The total number of swine flu cases was 657.

Jazeps Keiss, the center’s director, downplayed the sharp increase in the number of cases, telling LNT television that the situation was not dramatic. He said the center admitted 11 people infected with the flu on Saturday and 10 more on Sunday.

Keiss said that most of those who have fallen in Latvia were being treated at home since they have the swine flu “in a comparatively mild form.” The center, by contrast, was treating those who were suffering from the disease in a more severe form. The center is currently treating 60 patients with the A(H1N1) influenza, Keiss said. As of Sunday some 1,308 people were tested for the virus, according to center statistics.

No deaths from swine flu have been reported in Latvia.