As flu fears ease, Mexico gets ready to re-open

EPIDEMICS

Offices, restaurants re-open in Mexico as epidemic fades
Offices and restaurants in Mexico were to reopen on Wednesday after a week-long shutdown caused by swine flu but officials now insist it is on the wane. Although the toll from the epidemic creeps up each day, now standing at 29 dead and more than 913 infected, authorities say it peaked last week and is now under control. The lifting of the shutdown was to be progressive over coming days. On Thursday, high schools and universities were to open, to be followed by primary schools and kindergartens next Monday. There was no immediate word however when cinemas, theaters and nightclubs in Mexico City would be permitted to open their doors again. Mexico was at the center of the A(H1N1) epidemic that has now spread to more than 20 countries. The Mexican government, though, is challenging the assumption that the virus originated in the country, and keeps pointing at a smaller outbreak that occurred in the United States around the same time. President Felipe Calderon said Tuesday the world could thank Mexico for having responded quickly to the emergency. "The frontline of the battle was Mexico, and we defended all of humanity from the propagation of this new virus," he told national television. Calderon's office later said that the World Health Organization's representative in Mexico, Philippe Lamy, had praised the Mexican government's actions. "The lessons learned from the Mexican experience were essential for the international community," Lamy was quoted as saying. Calderon cautioned however that "this virus is still circulating," and warned people to maintain hygiene precautions to avoid spreading the disease. Despite efforts to restore normal life, it was clear the economic damage dealt to Mexico by the disease would be felt for some time to come. Finance Minister Agustin Carstens told reporters that the nationwide shutdown and the devastation to the tourism industry cost the economy around 2.3 billion dollars, or "close to 0.3 percent" of gross domestic product. He said the government would roll out a fiscal stimulus package to mitigate the damage that would include a 1.3-billion-dollar injection into the economy. A marketing campaign to lure back tourists and 380 million dollars in credits for companies and subsidies would also be launched. Mexico City hotels are down to 10 percent occupancy, and foreign visitors have been absent from the city center and tourist draws, such as the famed Aztec pyramids, which were declared off-limits.

by Staff Writers
Mexico City (AFP) May 6, 2009
Mexico emerged Wednesday from a five-day lockdown, reopening businesses and restaurants shuttered by swine flu, as a second death from the virus was recorded over the border in the United States.

While the worldwide total of infections approached the 1,500 mark, health officials expressed cautious optimism that the worst was over as they began easing restrictions designed to contain the spread of the A(H1N1) virus.

Mexico, the epicenter of the crisis, was taking its first steps towards a resumption of normality with offices and restaurants cleared to reopen from Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, high schools and universities were to open, to be followed by primary schools and kindergartens next Monday.

There was no immediate word however when cinemas, theaters and nightclubs in Mexico City would be permitted to open their doors again.

The emergence of the virus, a new strain that has combined human, swine and bird influenza, set off fears of a worldwide pandemic, even though only 31 people have been confirmed dead -- a number in line with any "normal" flu bug.

World health officials have tallied 1,490 people infected around the globe so far, including 29 deaths in Mexico, while countries have imposed a range of measures to prevent a dangerous and massively deadly global outbreak.

Hundreds of people were still under quarantine at a hotel in Hong Kong, where health authorities sealed off the premises for seven days up until next Friday, and where memories are still fresh of the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak.

In the United States, meanwhile, officials announced the first US national to die since the outbreak -- a woman who had chronic underlying conditions, officials said. It was only the second flu death recorded outside of Mexico.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said it expected "more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths from this outbreak" in the weeks ahead.

But at the same time, US health authorities eased the restrictions for school closures, a move seen as a possible sign that the worst of the outbreak might well be over.

"This is presenting itself more like seasonal flu," said US Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Although the worst initial fears about the outbreak have not been realized, Mexican officials said they estimated it had cost the country 2.3 billion dollars.

The tourism sector was hit hard and the five-day shutdown also took its toll in a nation that was already struggling because of the worldwide economic slowdown.

Hotels in the capital were down to 10 percent occupancy, and foreign visitors were absent from the city center and from popular tourist sites such as the country's famed Aztec pyramids, which were made off-limits.

While only China -- the origin of the 2003 SARS epidemic -- and a handful of Latin American countries cut travel ties with Mexico, several airlines, tour companies and cruise lines suspended trips to the country.

The incident strained relations between Mexico and China when 70 Mexican nationals, most or all without flu symptoms, were placed under quarantine in China after one Mexican citizen in Hong Kong was confirmed to have been infected. They were eventually flown home on Tuesday.

Meanwhile a group of Chinese nationals who had been stranded in Mexico returned home before being immediately quarantined.

All 119 passengers and crew on a government-chartered Boeing 777 were isolated after arriving at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, a local government spokesman told AFP.

Separately, about 200 British soldiers were released late Tuesday after being held overnight in Brunei when they arrived from Britain, where 27 people have been infected with the disease.

Officials said the decision to isolate the soldiers -- in Brunei for military training -- was a precautionary measure.

There is no dedicated vaccine against the new A(H1N1) virus, but the World Health Organization said it was sending 2.4 million courses of anti-viral drug Tamiflu to 72 nations around the world to combat the outbreak.

burs/co/lth

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EPIDEMICS

Mexico sees epidemic easing

Mexico City (AFP) May 3, 2009
Mexico was increasingly optimistic Sunday its H1N1 flu epidemic was coming under control, after officials said stabilizing fatality figures suggested the virus was not as lethal as first feared.

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