Mexico City Waits to Reopen As Flu Fears Ease
Residents in Mexico City restlessly waited for life to return to normal Tuesday as officials from both Mexico and the United States said the worst may be over in the swine flu outbreak.
The number of confirmed swine flu cases worldwide stands at 1,117 Tuesday with 26 deaths, according to figures from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The WHO’s number of cases is seven higher than the CDC figure.
Twenty-five people died of the virus in Mexico and one in the United States. The world body said the virus, scientifically known as the Influenza A (H1N1), has been confirmed in 21 countries.
Mexican officials, citing improvement in the battle against the virus, announced plans to reopen government offices and restaurants on Wednesday — and museums, libraries and churches the following day.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano acknowledged claims by Mexican authorities who believe their cases have peaked. “I have no reason to think that is inaccurate,” Napolitano said.
“What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain of H1N1 is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu — how sick you get — is not stronger than regular seasonal flu.”
But officials from WHO and the CDC plan to monitor developments in the Southern Hemisphere, where flu season arrives over the next few months as winter begins there.
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Those results will help determine whether a stronger strain of the virus will return to the United States and the Northern Hemisphere during the fall flu season.
Mexican officials ordered a wide-ranging shutdown of Mexico City last week. The weeklong closure encompasses the Cinco de Mayo holiday Tuesday.
University and secondary school students can return to class Thursday, while younger students will wait until Monday.
Other public venues in the city such as bars, nightclubs, theaters and sports stadiums will remain closed indefinitely.
In all, about 35,000 public venues were shut down, transforming the bustling metropolis of 20 million people into a ghost town overnight.
Soccer games were postponed, restaurants only served takeout, and Sunday Mass — which usually draws millions of worshippers — was canceled. 
Watch as Mexicans put faith in cure »
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Posted by John Malloy
on May 5 2009. Filed under International.
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