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Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...20TDY01303.htm
Govt to drop onboard flu inspections
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The government plans to end onboard checks of arriving airline passengers for the new influenza strain this week and relax other antiflu measures as it shifts from trying to shut the flu out of the country to limiting the domestic spread of the virus.
The government also plans to allow some infected people to recuperate at home rather than at designated medical facilities and to reinforce health care systems as part of a more flexible raft of countermeasures likely to be drawn up within a week.
Infected people with an underlying illness, elderly people and small children would still be required to seek treatment at hospitals.
"We need to shift the focus of our human resources from quarantine efforts to domestic countermeasures," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said at a hastily arranged press conference Monday.
"That doesn't mean there's no point in trying to detect infected people at our airports, but we have limited human resources available," he said Tuesday, adding he wants to divert some medical personnel involved in quarantine checks to efforts across the country to grapple with the new flu.
The checks of passengers on flights from Mexico, the United States and Canada--the countries that have been hit hardest by the new strain of the H1N1 virus--could end by the end of this week.
Masuzoe also said a government advisory panel of experts had informed him that the new flu could be considered no more harmful "than seasonal strains of influenza," based on its virulence and infectivity.
"We think it might be better to switch to new measures premised on the new H1N1 strain," rather than tweaking the current action plan that was an intended response to the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain, Masuzoe added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura agreed that conditions required the focus to be shifted to trying to halt the domestic spread of the virus.
"We have to give priority to domestic countermeasures," he said Tuesday. "We need to scale back our efforts to keep the virus from coming into the country. We're considering when would be the best time to do this."
The government's current action plan stipulates that people infected during the early phase of a domestic outbreak must seek treatment at a designated medical institute. However, the new, more flexible approach is expected to allow many people to instead recuperate at home.
The central government's change of tack comes in response to demands from local governments and businesses for a more realistic approach to tackling the new flu. The government has been selective in applying the action plan designed for fighting bird flu, and has resisted implementing steps such as asking people to refrain from leaving their homes for nonessential reasons and asking companies to scale down their operations.
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto has been one of the most vocal in calling on the government to take more concrete yet flexible measures to stamp out the virus that so far has infected nearly 180 people in Japan.
"It's much easier for local governments to take action if the central government sets out a plan," Hashimoto said during a meeting with the health minister Monday.
Prime Minister Taro Aso suggested the same day that the government would not let its guard down despite the new flu's apparently low virulence.
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Kobe to halt gene testing
KOBE--The Kobe municipal government announced Tuesday it will likely halt gene testing of patients suspected of being infected with the new strain of influenza.
The city government also intends to discontinue counting infected patients since regular clinics and hospitals will begin to treat patients complaining of mild flu symptoms.
The city has decided to allow about 1,500 clinics and hospitals to begin examining possible flu patients. The city judged that it could not handle all the gene testing samples as the number of patients found to be positive in a simple test is expected to increase.
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Confirmed cases reach 186
OSAKA--The number of people in Japan confirmed to have contracted the new flu had reached 186--the fourth-highest national total after Mexico, the United States and Canada--as of 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to figures provided by local governments.
(May. 20, 2009)
Govt to drop onboard flu inspections
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The government plans to end onboard checks of arriving airline passengers for the new influenza strain this week and relax other antiflu measures as it shifts from trying to shut the flu out of the country to limiting the domestic spread of the virus.
The government also plans to allow some infected people to recuperate at home rather than at designated medical facilities and to reinforce health care systems as part of a more flexible raft of countermeasures likely to be drawn up within a week.
Infected people with an underlying illness, elderly people and small children would still be required to seek treatment at hospitals.
"We need to shift the focus of our human resources from quarantine efforts to domestic countermeasures," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said at a hastily arranged press conference Monday.
"That doesn't mean there's no point in trying to detect infected people at our airports, but we have limited human resources available," he said Tuesday, adding he wants to divert some medical personnel involved in quarantine checks to efforts across the country to grapple with the new flu.
The checks of passengers on flights from Mexico, the United States and Canada--the countries that have been hit hardest by the new strain of the H1N1 virus--could end by the end of this week.
Masuzoe also said a government advisory panel of experts had informed him that the new flu could be considered no more harmful "than seasonal strains of influenza," based on its virulence and infectivity.
"We think it might be better to switch to new measures premised on the new H1N1 strain," rather than tweaking the current action plan that was an intended response to the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza strain, Masuzoe added.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura agreed that conditions required the focus to be shifted to trying to halt the domestic spread of the virus.
"We have to give priority to domestic countermeasures," he said Tuesday. "We need to scale back our efforts to keep the virus from coming into the country. We're considering when would be the best time to do this."
The government's current action plan stipulates that people infected during the early phase of a domestic outbreak must seek treatment at a designated medical institute. However, the new, more flexible approach is expected to allow many people to instead recuperate at home.
The central government's change of tack comes in response to demands from local governments and businesses for a more realistic approach to tackling the new flu. The government has been selective in applying the action plan designed for fighting bird flu, and has resisted implementing steps such as asking people to refrain from leaving their homes for nonessential reasons and asking companies to scale down their operations.
Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto has been one of the most vocal in calling on the government to take more concrete yet flexible measures to stamp out the virus that so far has infected nearly 180 people in Japan.
"It's much easier for local governments to take action if the central government sets out a plan," Hashimoto said during a meeting with the health minister Monday.
Prime Minister Taro Aso suggested the same day that the government would not let its guard down despite the new flu's apparently low virulence.
===
Kobe to halt gene testing
KOBE--The Kobe municipal government announced Tuesday it will likely halt gene testing of patients suspected of being infected with the new strain of influenza.
The city government also intends to discontinue counting infected patients since regular clinics and hospitals will begin to treat patients complaining of mild flu symptoms.
The city has decided to allow about 1,500 clinics and hospitals to begin examining possible flu patients. The city judged that it could not handle all the gene testing samples as the number of patients found to be positive in a simple test is expected to increase.
===
Confirmed cases reach 186
OSAKA--The number of people in Japan confirmed to have contracted the new flu had reached 186--the fourth-highest national total after Mexico, the United States and Canada--as of 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to figures provided by local governments.
(May. 20, 2009)
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