ID :
57580
Mon, 04/27/2009 - 09:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/57580
The shortlink copeid
Aso orders measures to block swine flu from entering Japan+
TOKYO, April 26 Kyodo - Prime Minister Taro Aso ordered the Cabinet's crisis management officer Sunday to come up with measures to prevent swine flu from entering Japan, government officials said.
''We must stop the entry and spread (of swine flu) in Japan at the border,''
Aso told reporters on a Japan Coast Guard vessel which he boarded for an
inspection parade.
The officer, Tetsuro Ito, was also ordered to closely cooperate with other
countries concerned and provide information to the public, following reports of
swine flu infections in humans in Mexico and the United States, the officials
said. More than 80 people in Mexico are believed to have died and over 1,300
are sick as a result of swine flu.
The government will convene a meeting of all Cabinet ministers Monday morning
to deal with the issue.
The government plans to place priority on the prevention of swine flu's entry
into Japan and support Japanese nationals abroad, the officials said.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry received inquiries from 314 people on
Saturday after it set up a 24-hour phone consultation service on the disease.
Public inquiries included whether it is safe to travel to Mexico and on the
situation in Mexico, ministry officials said.
Reflecting public concern about swine flu, JTB Corp. and Hankyu Travel
International Co. decided to cancel their package tours to Mexico.
In the face of spread of swine flu, Panasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. on Sunday
instructed their employees to forgo business trips to Mexico for the time
being.
Sharp plans to order its employees in Mexico to wear masks and refrain from
visiting places where there are crowds of people to avoid possible flu
infection.
The health ministry will also strengthen its surveillance on direct flights
from Mexico by asking all passengers, regardless of whether they show flu
symptoms, to report their contact information.
Local public health centers will monitor their health conditions for about 10
days to see if there is any sign of infection with swine flu.
Quarantine officers also continued to use thermographic imaging to check the
temperatures of passengers coming from the United States and Mexico to detect
any signs of flu symptoms.
To prepare for confirmation of a new type of influenza by the World Health
Organization and raising its alert level from the current phase 3 to 4, the
ministry will confirm the amount of anti-flu drug Tamiflu in distribution and
secure accommodations near Narita airport to be used for isolating infected
people from the general public.
Meanwhile, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on
a television program Sunday that eating pork poses no danger of being infected.
Pork is sanitized at the shipment stage regardless of whether it is produced
domestically or imported, he said.
==Kyodo
''We must stop the entry and spread (of swine flu) in Japan at the border,''
Aso told reporters on a Japan Coast Guard vessel which he boarded for an
inspection parade.
The officer, Tetsuro Ito, was also ordered to closely cooperate with other
countries concerned and provide information to the public, following reports of
swine flu infections in humans in Mexico and the United States, the officials
said. More than 80 people in Mexico are believed to have died and over 1,300
are sick as a result of swine flu.
The government will convene a meeting of all Cabinet ministers Monday morning
to deal with the issue.
The government plans to place priority on the prevention of swine flu's entry
into Japan and support Japanese nationals abroad, the officials said.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry received inquiries from 314 people on
Saturday after it set up a 24-hour phone consultation service on the disease.
Public inquiries included whether it is safe to travel to Mexico and on the
situation in Mexico, ministry officials said.
Reflecting public concern about swine flu, JTB Corp. and Hankyu Travel
International Co. decided to cancel their package tours to Mexico.
In the face of spread of swine flu, Panasonic Corp. and Sharp Corp. on Sunday
instructed their employees to forgo business trips to Mexico for the time
being.
Sharp plans to order its employees in Mexico to wear masks and refrain from
visiting places where there are crowds of people to avoid possible flu
infection.
The health ministry will also strengthen its surveillance on direct flights
from Mexico by asking all passengers, regardless of whether they show flu
symptoms, to report their contact information.
Local public health centers will monitor their health conditions for about 10
days to see if there is any sign of infection with swine flu.
Quarantine officers also continued to use thermographic imaging to check the
temperatures of passengers coming from the United States and Mexico to detect
any signs of flu symptoms.
To prepare for confirmation of a new type of influenza by the World Health
Organization and raising its alert level from the current phase 3 to 4, the
ministry will confirm the amount of anti-flu drug Tamiflu in distribution and
secure accommodations near Narita airport to be used for isolating infected
people from the general public.
Meanwhile, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on
a television program Sunday that eating pork poses no danger of being infected.
Pork is sanitized at the shipment stage regardless of whether it is produced
domestically or imported, he said.
==Kyodo
