KOBE — As Kobe confirmed the nation's first domestic swine flu infections, city officials instituted a limited number of measures to prevent further infections from developing, prompting Kansai-area residents to prepare for further possible outbreaks.
But the response Saturday indicated Kobe officials still view the spread of the H1N1 virus as more likely to happen overseas than in Japan, as they had no immediate plans to institute the kind of quarantine checks at city-run Kobe airport that are present at Japan's international airports.
In and around Kobe Saturday, flu masks were flying off the shelves of stores near both JR Sannomiya and Hankyu Sannomiya stations, and the trains and department stores were less crowded than normal following news that a 17-year-old boy in his third year of high school had tested positive for the new virus.