School closures in Japan double because of swine flu pandemic

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School closures in Japan double because of swine flu pandemic

By Anna Kitanaka | Bloomberg News <TABLE id=phototable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=325 border=0><TBODY></TBODY></TABLE>Sunday, October 18, 2009 8:08 PM EDT

The number of schools in Japan closed because of the swine flu pandemic nearly doubled by Oct. 10 from a week earlier, according to figures from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Almost 6,480 schools, kindergartens and day care centers were fully or partially closed because of the influenza outbreak, the report said. Tokyo had the highest number, with 752 schools affected last week. Japan had 52,956 schools and kindergartens in May this year, according to the Education Ministry.

School closures are at the highest since January 2000 when 4,131 schools were closed, said Takeshi Enami, Deputy Director of the division of infectious diseases at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

There were 3,403 educational centers closed between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3, according to another report from the ministry.

More than 15,000 cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Japan, according to the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center. The were 24 deaths as of Oct. 14, according to the health ministry Web site. Of those, six were under the age of 20.

Many schools are closed in Japan during the flu season, the ministry said on its Web site. Schools may be required to close if they are in an infected area, even if no students or staff develop flu symptoms, according to the ministry.


http://www.rep-am.com/news/national/443658.txt

 

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Re: School closures in Japan double because of swine flu pandemic

Nearly 14,000 schools closed due to influenza

Thursday 29th October, 06:36 AM JST
TOKYO ?

The health ministry said Wednesday that 13,964 educational facilities, including schools and kindergartens, canceled some or all of their classes due to influenza infections in the week from Oct. 18 to 24, up sharply from 8,534 reported a week earlier. Most of the facilities were hit by the new influenza, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

In the week through Sunday, 380 group infections involving more than 10 people have been reported on a preliminary basis, with Hokkaido leading other prefectures with 77 cases, followed by 58 in Tokyo, 36 in Osaka and 33 in Aichi.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/nearly-14000-schools-closed-due-to-influenza