英語でニュース*News in Englishコミュの東京・はしか感染で学校閉鎖

Measles outbreak closes schools in Tokyo


Waseda University became the latest school to suspend classes amid an outbreak of measles spreading throughout the Tokyo area, officials said.

About 55,000 undergraduate and graduate students at Waseda University were told not to come to school until May 29 after 30 students were confirmed infected with measles Monday, the officials said.

The university is the largest in terms of number of students whose activities have been affected by the outbreak.
Other universities in the Tokyo area have already closed their doors because of the measles scare.

According to a survey compiled by The Asahi Shimbun, at least 150,000 students attending major universities based in Tokyo have been affected.

Waseda University, based in Shinjuku Ward, canceled almost all classes from 2:40 p.m. Monday after the number of students who had developed measles symptoms reached 30 by 11 a.m., the officials said.

The decision was made at the discretion of a doctor at the school's Human Services Center.
Students were instructed to refrain from coming to all campuses, except the graduate school's Kita-Kyushu campus in Fukuoka Prefecture.

As for club activities, such as baseball, students can practice and take part in other functions if they can prove they have already contracted and recovered from the disease or have authorization from doctors showing that they carry the appropriate antibodies.

Chuo University shut down its Tama campus on Sunday and the Korakuen campus on Saturday. The two campuses will remain sealed off from students until May 28, university officials said.

Of the 14 colleges at Nihon University, four, including the College of Humanities and Science, started canceling their classes last week.

About 800 people were initially scheduled to take the TOEIC test on May 27 at Nihon University's College of Economics building in Chiyoda Ward.

But the building was closed off because of the measles outbreak, and the test organizer had to switch the test-taking site to nearby Tokyo Denki University on Friday.

Officials had to notify test-takers of the change by express mail. They also told the test-takers that the examination fees could be refunded and that they could postpone the test date.

But Tokyo Denki University on Saturday suddenly decided against the use of the school building for TOEIC out of concerns of a measles infection. The organizer had to secure another location for the tests, according to the officials.

Komazawa, Seikei, Wako universities and the Tokyo University of Agriculture have also canceled classes.

Sophia University, which had canceled all classes from May 12 through 19, resumed classes Monday. But the university remains on alert for additional infections.

Other major universities in Tokyo, including the University of Tokyo, Keio, Hosei, Meiji, Toyo and Senshu universities, confirmed that some of their students have developed symptoms of the disease, but they have not suspended classes.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan education board, 279 students and pupils attending 104 metropolitan-run schools had been diagnosed with the disease by Friday.

Nine of those schools have or had suspended all of their classes because of the outbreak, while two schools canceled some classes.

The measles outbreak has spread to Chiba, Saitama and Kanagawa prefectures.

In Chiba Prefecture, at least 350 people, including students at more than 10 colleges and universities, were confirmed to have developed measles symptoms by Thursday.

Four students at Saitama University had also shown symptoms, reports said.

Under regulations of the School Health Law, measles is designated as a highly contagious disease spread by an airborne virus.

A school principal can ask students who have contracted the disease to stay home. The infected students can be asked not to attend classes until three days have passed since their fevers have abated.