New type

Emptied storage facility of a "major mask manufacturer."

Japan is calling this thing "new type influenza" because it's a mix of bird and pig and people flu. I don't think the name has anything to do with religious or corporate sensibilities here. Now the first suspected case, a 17-year-old boy, is taking Relenza and resting in a hospital in Yokohama, and masked reporters are clustered out front, zooming in and out on the building's windows. Apparently the kid is alone in a 26-bed special flu ward. (Another suspected case was found to be regular old Hong Kong flu early this morning.)

It's hard to get a read on how much anyone might be concerned about it since probably 10-15% of people are wearing masks all the time anyway for colds and allergies. The entire country is about to have five days off for Golden Week. Offices will be closed and people will be sitting in traffic jams in individual cars, which seems good for reducing spread, but people will also be crowded on airplanes and at Disneyland, which would be less good. If there's even anything to spread.

USA Today says Japan issued an (incredibly Japanese) advisory asking those who are traveling to Mexico to "consider whether such trips are necessary."

They're telling people to stay home if they feel sick, call a hotline, and then, if necessary, report to a designated flu center. The centers have separate entrances and negative pressure rooms. These sound like effective precautions, if people follow them. There is the cultural barrier to overcome of people insisting on going into work no matter how sick they feel. Probably good that everyone has a few days off.