New York has reported its first A(H1N1) flu fatality following the death of a 55-year-old teacher, and closed 17 schools after a large number of students were reported with flu-like symptoms, reports say.
Mitchell Wiener was the assistant principal of a Queens high school--one of several city schools to be shut after students and staff members came down with the disease.
He died several days after being admitted to New York's Flushing Hospital Medical Center with the A(H1N1) flu virus, said Dr. Andrew Rubin, a hospital spokesman. Wiener had been reportedly "overwhelmed" by the illness despite treatment with an experimental drug, he added.
Wiener's death comes as the number of confirmed A(H1N1) flu cases in Japan soared from four to more than 120--with the government shutting down hundreds of schools to stop the spread of the disease.
Three additional schools will be closed in Queens for up to five school days after officials recorded increasing levels of influenza-like illnesses. Officials at the Child Legacy School on Roosevelt Island also announced Monday that they will voluntarily close for two days.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city health officials say their goal is to get help to people who will be the most affected by the flu.
Meanwhile, the United Federation of Teachers of New York has set up 11 hotlines in the five boroughs of the city to gather information on flu outbreaks and school closings. The city's Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and teachers union president Randi Weingarten said they are closely monitoring schools where students have been absent because of flu-like symptoms.
In Japan more than 1,466 schools remained closed Monday morning, and will remain closed until at least Friday, officials said. The outbreak in the country surged as infections were confirmed in the port city of Kobe and nearby Osaka, which is Japan's second-biggest urban area.
The new wave of infections do not have a clear connection to foreign travel--unlike the initial case--and primarily involve teenagers.
Japan has been battling to stop the new flu strain from spreading, establishing testing centers at airports and encouraging people in high-risk jobs to wear masks and wash their hands properly. But those precautions appeared to have failed as the number of infections grew.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.