# 3901
In Japan, concerns over the Shingata Influ (New strain influenza) run higher than here in the United States. They are much quicker to don masks, close schools, and to take other steps to slow the spread of the virus.
At the start of October, only a little over 3,000 schools were closed in Japan. That number has quadrupled to nearly 14,000 this week.
By contrast, in the United States - with 2.5 times the population - only about 600 schools have closed this fall.
US school closures are rapidly approaching the level seen last spring, when 700 schools were closed during the initial outbreaks of the H1N1 virus.
A hat tip to Pathfinder on FluTrackers for this link.
Nearly 14,000 schools closed due to influenza
Thursday 29th October, 08:36 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.
