Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 18-May-2009 20:06 hrs
Sales people wear masks as they sell lottery tickets in Osaka, Japan. Japan on Monday reported 135 swine flu cases and shuttered more than 2,000 schools and kindergartens in a bid to slow the spread of the virus that may already have infected hundreds.
At Kobe High School, where the first domestic infection was confirmed, all classrooms and schoolyards were empty, while teachers in staff rooms phoned students one by one to check whether they have flu symptoms.
The principal, Yukihiro Amano, told reporters: "We have done whatever we could, but the situation is beyond our expectations."
A housewife living nearby, 31-year-old Yoshiko Fujii, told AFP: "Now that the influenza is spreading so fast, I guess I have to be ready to be infected."
But other residents cautioned against over-reacting to the virus.
"I see the outbreak positively as the virus appears less dangerous than originally thought," said Kozue Yamagata, a magazine editor. "It's a good opportunity to learn how to act before we may face a more serious one."
No cases have yet been reported in greater Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the world's most populous urban area.
Japan's first confirmed cases of swine flu were four people who tested positive after they flew in from North America earlier this month. They were immediately quarantined along with about 50 fellow passengers. — AFP
At Kobe High School, where the first domestic infection was confirmed, all classrooms and schoolyards were empty, while teachers in staff rooms phoned students one by one to check whether they have flu symptoms.
The principal, Yukihiro Amano, told reporters: "We have done whatever we could, but the situation is beyond our expectations."
A housewife living nearby, 31-year-old Yoshiko Fujii, told AFP: "Now that the influenza is spreading so fast, I guess I have to be ready to be infected."
But other residents cautioned against over-reacting to the virus.
"I see the outbreak positively as the virus appears less dangerous than originally thought," said Kozue Yamagata, a magazine editor. "It's a good opportunity to learn how to act before we may face a more serious one."
No cases have yet been reported in greater Tokyo, which with almost 36 million people is the world's most populous urban area.
Japan's first confirmed cases of swine flu were four people who tested positive after they flew in from North America earlier this month. They were immediately quarantined along with about 50 fellow passengers. — AFP
From TODAY; see the source article here.
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