Canada — CBC.ca (May 4): Two more cases of swine flu confirmed in Toronto on Sunday, bring the total in the province to 16. ... None of the 16 reported so far are believed to be serious, said Dr. David Williams, Ontario's acting chief medical officer of health. All of the cases reported so far in Ontario are in the Greater Toronto Area: six in Toronto, six in Durham, three in York and one in Peel. There are 10 women suffering from the swine flu and six men, ranging in age from 21 to 49. Until Sunday's two new cases were reported all of the people suffering from swine flu had visited Mexico. More than 100 cases have been reported in Canada.

China — China View (May 4): At a time when the global financial crisis still ravages the world economy, the outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 further adds to the economic woes of a number of countries and regions. How to jointly control the epidemic and reduce its impact on the world economy is another challenge facing the international community. ... Since it struck Mexico in mid-April, the epidemic has inflicted prominent fluctuations on the world's main stock and foreign exchange markets as well as staple commodities like petroleum. The shock wave can also be felt in some countries' real economic sectors like tourism, food and transportation. The world economy is bound to face more grave challenges as long as the flu remains unchecked.

India — Times of India (May 4): Indian Council of Medical Research director general Dr. V. M. Katoch told TOI, "The virus now jumping from humans to pigs should not worry India too much as controlled pig farms are rare in the country." In the light of the virus's new traits, W.H.O.'s scientific committee is meeting in Geneva on Monday to discuss what they now know of the virus — its incubation period, its severity, maybe its origin and which groups may be most vulnerable. W.H.O. also said it was unclear when the latest outbreak would be termed as a pandemic at phase 6 level as at present, epidemiological data suggests that the virus had not spread in a sustained way outside of the Americas, a condition necessary to declare a full global pandemic.

Iran — PressTV (May 4): President Felipe Calderon says Mexico has managed to contain the swine flu epidemic, deploring other countries for poor cooperation with Mexicans over the virus. Calderon said in an interview on Sunday that his country "is in a position to overcome" the A (H1N1) virus. ... The Mexican president also criticized some countries without naming them for "taking discriminatory measures because of ignorance and misinformation." His remarks came after Mexico's ambassador to China said Beijing has quarantined over 70 Mexican travelers in hospitals — including some with no symptoms of swine flu.

Ireland — Belfast Telegraph (May 4): Portugal is the latest country to report its first case of swine flu. It comes as Italy confirms two more cases and Mexico says it's winning the battle against the deadly new strain of the virus. One case has been confirmed here so far, in the east of the country, while 18 cases have been confirmed in the U.K. And in Hong Kong more than three hundred people remain in quarantine at a hotel after a Mexican guest tested positive for the virus.

Malaysia — Malaysia Star (May 4): The events last week raise questions on who will have access to scarce vaccines if a deadly flu pandemic breaks out. Without a system of fair benefit-sharing in place, developing countries will likely be left without vaccines. Last week, the A(H1N1) strain of flu, previously known as “swine flu,” displaced the global financial crisis and various wars as the big headline news around the world. Early in the week, the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) warned of the dangers of a rapid spread of the disease. The W.H.O. raised its pandemic alert for A(H1N1) flu to stage five, just short of phase six which would mark a full-scale pandemic.

New Zealand — New Zealand Herald (May 4): International passengers arriving in Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown must fill out detailed locator cards to ensure that they can be easily and quickly contacted. The ministry said it was a precaution in case the disease was found to have taken hold in other countries after the flights had arrived. A flu management protocol to prevent the spread of the bug has been sent to Auckland's general practices. The "toot three times" policy recommends that people who have traveled to affected areas or are suffering flu-like symptoms wait outside clinics and toot their horns for medical help. This would give doctors or nurses time to protect themselves before escorting patients into isolation.

Northern Mariana Islands — Saipan Tribune (May 5): The pandemic alert level remains at Phase 5 in the C.N.M.I. [Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands] as the Department of Public Health continues to its routine testing to identify flu illnesses. As of yesterday afternoon, the D.P.H. has found no traces of the H1N1 influenza virus, even as the number of areas in the United States affected by the virus keeps going up. ... Since the C.N.M.I. Pandemic Alert Committee and the D.P.H. Emergency Operations Center were activated, there have been two cases of flu reported but Public Health analyst Roxanne Diaz explained that these were just the results of routine flu testing.

Qatar — Al Jazeera (May 4): A second wave of the H1N1 virus "would be the biggest of all outbreaks the world has faced in the 21st century," the head of the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has warned. Margaret Chan said in a newspaper interview on Monday the virus could re-emerge in the months ahead "with a vengeance." ... Spain's health ministry said on Monday that the number of confirmed cases in the country has risen to 54, from 44 a day earlier, but only 11 victims are in hospital. Twenty-five people have died from the flu, which has affected 985 people in 20 countries, according to the W.H.O. One death was in the United States and the rest in Mexico.