The World Health Organization raised the swine flu alert Thursday to its highest level, saying the H1N1 virus has spread to enough countries to be considered a global pandemic.
Kindergarten students, some wearing masks, attend school in a residential estate in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Kindergarten students, some wearing masks, attend school in a residential estate in Hong Kong on Thursday.
Increasing the alert to Phase 6 does not mean that the disease is deadlier or more dangerous than before, just that it has spread to more countries, the WHO said.
"This is an important and challenging day for all of us," WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in a briefing with reporters. "We are moving into the early days of the first flu pandemic of the 21st century."
The last previous pandemic occurred in 1968.
As of Thursday, the virus had spread to 74 countries, the health agency said. There were 28,774 confirmed cases and 144 deaths.
The health department will decide after two weeks whether to continue the shutdown.
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Also on Thursday, Israel's health ministry announced that the number of people diagnosed with swine flu there was 68.
Health officials use the virus' clinical name -- H1N1 -- to reflect that it's actually a combination of several different types of flu and to reduce confusion about whether eating pork can spread the virus. It cannot.
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