On the morning of May 20, 2009, Shiga’s first case of swine flu has been confirmed. A 23-year-old male student at the Biwako-Kusatsu campus of Ritsumeikan University has been confirmed as the first patient. His symptoms are not serious and will be hospitalized. None of the swine flu cases in Japan have proved to be fatal. It seems to be similar to seasonal flu.

The student lives in Otsu and was visiting his parents’ home in Kobe during May 15-18. In Kobe, he worked part-time at a fast-food place where a high school student also working there was later diagnosed with swine flu.

He attended university classes in Kusatsu on the 18th. They are now contacting his classmates who had classes with him at the university.

Ritsumeikan University and most of Shiga’s public schools (especially in Shiga’s six southern cities) will be closed for seven days starting today. Many public and sports events have also been cancelled. Shiga is Japan’s third prefecture hit with swine flu.

School trips to Shiga are being canceled one after another. One school switched its trip from Shiga to Kyoto which I cannot understand. Matter of time before Kyoto gets it too.

Watch all the surgical masks sell out in Shiga from today.