Re: New flu infections rise above 160 in Japan
New-flu infections rise above 160 in Japan, Aso seeks calm
response
TOKYO, May 18 KYODO
The number of new-flu cases in Japan has reached 163
after 67 more infections were confirmed Monday in Osaka and
Hyogo prefectures, while many in the area reported symptoms of
the flu in a sign that suggests that the influenza may be
starting to spread on a full scale.
Prime Minister Taro Aso called on the public to remain
calm. The spread of the new H1N1 strain of influenza A has
prompted more than 4,000 schools in the two western Japan
prefectures to close or consider closing, affecting more than
1.4 million pupils.
The Japanese government at this stage has no plans to ask
people to refrain from going on outings, holding meetings or
scaling down corporate activity, Aso said at a meeting Monday
morning of the government task force on the influenza
epidemic.
The government will begin running television messages as
early as Tuesday in which Aso will call on people to remain
calm amid the new-flu outbreak, the Cabinet Office said.
The ages of those confirmed as infected with the new-flu
strain ranged from 5 to 60.
Many of the infections have been found among high school
students in the two prefectures with no record of recent
overseas travel, according to the health ministry and local
authorities.
The government task force decided not to upgrade its
measures aimed at coping with the spread of the new flu from
the current phase 2, which refers to an early stage of
domestic outbreak.
''Many infected people have received appropriate
treatment at an early stage and recovered,'' Aso said at the
meeting. ''I would like all the people in Japan to act
calmly.''
But the prime minister warned that those suffering from
chronic diseases such as diabetes could fall seriously ill if
infected with the flu.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said the
government will consider raising its antiflu steps to phase 3
to tackle the spread of the infections after hearing expert
opinion.
The government will upgrade its measures when medical
workers fail to detect links among new-flu transmissions or
grasp how the flu is spreading, officials said, adding none of
the infected people in Japan have fallen seriously ill.
Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe,
meanwhile, told a press conference Monday that given that the
new flu appears to be no more harmful than seasonal ones, ''It
may be better to switch to a new set of measures premised on
H1N1,'' rather than keep modifying the current action plans
based on a deadly H5N1 virus.
''That's one option, and we must decide within a week,''
during which the schools in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures are to
be temporarily shut to prevent the spread of infections, he
said.
''If the number of patients goes up further, we will
consider switching to recuperation at home for those who are
still suspected of being infected or others who have light
symptoms, in order to reserve specialized medical institutions
for those with severe symptoms,'' the health minister said.
Masuzoe added that the government will also work on
developing an antidote for the new flu to prepare for a second
outbreak expected in the future.
A total of 4,043 schools in Osaka and Hyogo prefectures
had decided on temporary closures or are considering such
closures to prevent further spread of the disease as of 5
p.m., according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology. The number includes elementary, junior
high and high schools, as well as universities and
kindergartens.
Meanwhile, 596 elementary, junior high and high schools
in 35 of the country's 47 prefectures have changed their
schedules for planned school trips to western Japan because of
the confirmed outbreaks in the region, according to figures
made available to Kyodo News by local and municipal
governments. The number includes cancellations, postponements
and changes in destination.
The industry ministry, meanwhile, said Monday it will
continue to monitor the impact of the flu outbreak on
corporate activity in Japan.
While ensuring the maintenance of lifelines and a stable
supply of daily necessities, the ministry also started
considering possible support for smaller companies through
government-backed loans and other financial aid programs, Vice
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Harufumi Mochizuki
told reporters.
The new flu, which has claimed a total of 76 lives in
Mexico, the United States, Canada and Costa Rica, has been
spreading rapidly in western Japan and has slowly begun to
affect daily life in the region.
A subsidiary of West Japan Railway Co., a railway
operator commonly known as JR West, said it will close several
kiosks in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, for the time being because
one of its employees has contracted the flu. Kobe city said
the infected employee is a 53-year-old woman who works at a
kiosk at JR Sannomiya Station.
At JR Ibaraki Station, which is close to Kansai Okura
Senior High School that is connected to many new-flu
infections, a large number of passengers were seen wearing
masks.
The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, a unit of Mitsubishi
UFJ Financial Group Inc., said a female employee in her 20s in
charge of asset management at its Sannomiya branch in Kobe,
was confirmed to have contracted the new strain of influenza
A, adding the employee had not traveled abroad lately.
The bank said she had offered consultations to customers
at the counter until last Friday and that it has ordered 60
other workers at the branch not to come to work and to stand
by at home.
Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido met with Masuzoe to discuss the
central government's financial aid for municipalities tackling
the new-flu outbreak.
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, who also met Masuzoe later in
the day, said in Osaka the health minister should lead
national efforts to combat the disease.
Hashimoto, who issued a warning against a flu epidemic in
an emergency press conference held in the early hours of
Monday, urged junior high and high school students to stay at
home during the seven-day school closure period.
Meanwhile, the city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture,
has told students who visited Kobe on a school trip not to
come to school for about a week.
Hyogo Gov. Ido said the measure is ''excessive,'' but
Kitakyushu Mayor Kenji Kitahashi told a press conference
Monday the step is reasonable as it would prevent the spread
of new-flu infections in the southwestern Japan city.
The total infection figure includes four cases discovered
during onboard quarantine inspections at Narita airport among
a group of Japanese students and teachers who flew home
earlier this month after a trip to Canada via the United
States.
Nearly 9,000 people in 41 countries and regions had been
confirmed as infected with the new flu as of Monday Japan
time, including the 76 deaths.
==Kyodo
