Ukraine closes schools a week to curb swine flu spread

BEIJING, Nov. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The Ukrainian government Monday closed the nation's schools for a week to avoid the spread of swine flu and suggested nightclubs, cinemas and food markets in the west also be shut down.

People wearing face masks sit in a bus in the centre of Lviv Nov. 1, 2009.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Meeting a shipment of anti-viral drugs at the airport in Kiev on Monday, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko described the situation as an "epidemic," but she stressed that there is absolutely no need for the public to panic.

Tymoshenko's Health Ministry reported that 70 people in the nation of 40 million have died of flu, but did not say how many of those deaths were related to swine flu.