Over 2000 school facilities closed for new flu

Japan's health ministry says more than 2,000 schools across the country were fully or partially closed last week due to the new influenza epidemic. The figure was 2.8 times higher than that of the previous week.

The ministry said on Tuesday that 2,158 facilities reported closing in the week that ended last Saturday. 772 facilities were closed in the previous week.

The ministry asks educational facilities ranging from nursery schools to high schools to report to the ministry if they close fully or partially.

By prefecture, Tokyo had 372 closures, followed by Saitama with 184, Osaka with 128, and Chiba with 122. The figures suggest that the new flu is rapidly spreading in large cities.