Confirmed cases leapt from 302 early in the day to 401, surpassing Japan as Asia's swine flu hotspot and handing Australia the fourth largest number of confirmed cases in the world behind the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the situation was being assessed hourly as Australia considers ramping up its emergency measures from the 'contain' to the 'sustain' phase.

"It is inevitable that we will need at some point to consider changing that phase nationally and it is an issue that's being discussed closely by the chief medical officer, the health prevention committees and others," she said.

"It will continue to be assessed hourly as well as daily whether there are different steps that should be taken," she added.

Fourteen schools across the country were closed and Roxon said 5,000 face masks were being sent to the state of Victoria, which has 306 cases, from the national stockpile.

Chief medical officer Jim Bishop said many people who suspect they have swine flu may be advised to stay at home and only at-risk groups, including those with asthma and respiratory problems, told to visit their doctor.

"As we move along in this marathon race, what we will need to do is obviously identify those people that we're concerned about," Bishop said.

"If there is large numbers involved, we want to make sure the system is looking after people we most want to look after."

Australia's swine flu cases have soared from just 18 last Monday, when infected passengers were allowed to leave a luxury cruise liner in Sydney and disperse into the community.

Another 2,000 passengers who then boarded the giant "Pacific Dawn," which was carrying three infected crew, were finally allowed to disembark here on Monday after being cleared of the disease.

The vessel was turned away from the picturesque Whitsunday Islands and city of Cairns in Australia's northeast last week before 150 Queensland state residents were let off in Brisbane under emergency decree.

"I'm very annoyed that they were allowed to set sail knowing that they may have had swine flu on board," said Carolyn Rogers of Penrith, near Sydney, whose parents were on the ship.

"They knew and they still allowed them to go on."

Painter Saul Leano, 36, admitted "it wasn't the best trip" after spending seven straight days at sea.

"We were a bit angry we were told to leave the harbour and sail in the first place. We could have been quarantined here," he said.

Seventeen-year-old student Claire Gardner said she was shocked when she read news reports about the cruise, although many passengers were mollified by a cash-and-voucher refund by Carnival Australia, owner of P&O Cruises.

"I went on the Internet and saw all these articles," Gardner said. "This morning there were four helicopters up there, which was a bit nerve-wracking."

Carnival Australia chief executive Ann Sherry denied it had been a "nightmare" trip, insisting the passengers were well looked after and saying the firm had had zero cancellations.

"The groups of passengers I've just spoken to have said they've been treated well. They've had 75 percent of their fare back and a further-cruises credit of 25 percent," she said.

Figures released Friday by the World Health Organization showed that swine flu had infected 15,510 people in 53 countries since it was first sprang to prominence last month in Mexico and the United States.

Until Monday, Japan had been Asia's worst affected country with 380 cases, according to the latest official figures there.

earlier related report
2,000 leave Australian cruiser after swine flu drama
Australian authorities Monday let 2,000 people leave a cruise liner at the centre of a swine flu scare that left them stranded at sea for days, as the nation's number of cases jumped to 306.

Passengers and crew streamed off the giant "Pacific Dawn" in Sydney after being cleared of swine flu by a special team of nurses. Three crew who caught the disease remain in quarantine on board.

The ship has been blamed for the explosion in Australia's swine flu cases from just 14 a week ago, after sick passengers disembarked in Sydney last week before mingling in tourist hot-spots and taking buses, planes and taxis home.

Eight schools across the country were closed on Monday as authorities bid to control the major health emergency, which coincided with the onset of winter.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the government was considering raising Australia's alert level from 'contain' to the 'sustain' phase, which recognises the virus is established and spreading in the community.

She added that 5,000 face masks were being sent to Victoria state, which is worst hit by the outbreak, and extra funds were available for research into swine flu, which has killed 99 people worldwide and infected more than 15,000.

"There are always going to be challenges when you have a disease which ultimately will be a community-wide disease," Roxon told reporters.

Relieved relatives waited at Sydney's Darling Harbour on Monday for the cruise ship passengers, some of whom expressed anger that the ship was allowed to set sail last Monday despite the suspected presence of swine flu.

The vessel was turned away from the picturesque Whitsunday Islands and city of Cairns in Australia's northeast last week before 150 Queensland state residents were let off in Brisbane under emergency decree.

"I'm very annoyed that they were allowed to set sail knowing that they may have had swine flu on board," said Carolyn Rogers of Penrith, near Sydney, whose parents were on the ship.

"They knew and they still allowed them to go on."

Painter Saul Leano, 36, admitted "it wasn't the best trip" after spending seven straight days at sea.

"We were a bit angry we were told to leave the harbour and sail in the first place. We could have been quarantined here," he said.

Seventeen-year-old student Claire Gardner said she was shocked when she read news reports about the cruise, although many passengers were mollified by a cash-and-voucher refund by Carnival Australia, owner of P&O Cruises.

"I went on the Internet and saw all these articles," Gardner said. "This morning there were four helicopters up there, which was a bit nerve-wracking."

The nurses, who were sent on board at Brisbane, checked the temperature and interviewed everyone on board, including the captain.

"We're as confident as we can be" that there were no more cases on the ship, said nurse Anne Russell.

Carnival Australia chief executive Ann Sherry denied it had been a "nightmare" trip, insisting the passengers were well looked after and saying the firm had had zero cancellations.

"The groups of passengers I've just spoken to have said they've been treated well. They've had 75 percent of their fare back and a further-cruises credit of 25 percent," she said.

Figures released Friday by the World Health Organisation showed that swine flu had infected 15,510 people in 53 countries since it was first uncovered last month in the United States and Mexico.

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