PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - Several Asian countries have ordered mass school closures, some in the thousands, to stem outbreaks of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus.

The Hong Kong government has closed all primary, kindergarten, nursery and special schools since last week after the Chinese territory recorded its first case of the virus.

Schools were told to make use of online systems to send course material and homework assignments to their students.

Japan has closed 4,466 schools in six prefectures, mostly primary schools, kindergartens, junior, according to its Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Various countries have employed different school closure policies to combat the outbreaks, which have been detected in 44,287 cases across 94 countries and territories. To date there were 180 deaths, according to the World Health Organisation.

Thailand has authorised schools to suspend classes if necessary, without seeking the Education Ministry's permission, according to a Thai news agency which quoted Thailand's Education Minister Jurin Laksanavisit.

The Philippines, which has suspended classes in 11 schools and universities after detecting one case in each, told school authorities to report any influenza-like illnesses among their students, especially those who have recently travelled to affected countries.

The Star/Asia News Network