Mexican authorities ordered all schools shut and some businesses to close as the number of deaths suspected to be caused by swine flu rose to 149.
Schools and colleges will be closed nationwide until May 6 and authorities are contemplating whether it’s necessary to shut down more activities, Health Minister Jose Cordova said during a news conference in Mexico City. The state of Jalisco ordered bars and nightclubs shut in the beach resort of Puerto Vallarta.
“We’re working with all sectors of Mexican society,” Cordova told reporters today in Mexico City. “This is the only way we’ll be able to control this health problem.”
Government officials are reviewing additional measures, including curtailed business hours and operations in Mexico City, after the number of suspected flu deaths more than doubled from 68 reported on April 24. The spread of the virus had initially appeared to be concentrated in Mexico City and the states of Mexico and San Luis Potosi.
The Health Ministry may request a delay for the start of political campaigns for July mid-term congressional elections to avoid crowds where the disease can spread, Cordova said at a news conference, which was held outdoors under a tent in an effort to avoid transmitting the virus. The event was briefly interrupted when a 5.6-magnitude earthquake shook the city; there were no reports of serious damages or injuries.
Mexico City Government
The capital city’s government will decide tonight or tomorrow morning whether to restrict business operations, which may include mandating that office workers stay home. The decision depends on how fast the disease is spreading, Mexico City officials said.
Health officials haven’t established any common patterns among the flu victims, Ignacio Villasenor, Mexico City’s deputy health minister, said in an interview. Many of the dead are between the ages of 25 and 50 who only sought medical attention in the late stages of the disease, he said.
Health workers at two laboratories will increase the number of tests for swine flu to 100 per day by tomorrow after reaching 15 yesterday, Cordova said.
“We’re doing the case studies, but evidently not at the speed we would like,” he said.
Cordova said an early case of swine flu appeared in a 4- year-old child in the state of Veracruz on April 2, though authorities only confirmed the case as swine flu after others appeared. The outbreak in Veracruz was controlled and the child has recovered, he said.
Central Bank
The central bank is operating normally and taking preventative measures recommended by the government, the bank’s press office said. The bank is advising employees not to congregate in large groups and is allowing parents to stay home to take care of small children, it said.
The lower house of Congress plans to hold its session scheduled for tomorrow in Mexico City without any changes, Cesar Duarte, president of the Congress, said in a statement.
The slowdown of commerce in Mexico City as people remain at home has cost businesses such as restaurants and hotels 3 billion pesos ($225 million), Reforma newspaper reported, citing Laura Velazquez, head of the city’s Economic Development Ministry.
Mexico City’s subway system, which usually handles 5 million passengers a day, is seeing significantly less traffic, the system’s press office said. Workers are handing out face masks in stations and cleaning trains and stations more thoroughly to avoid spreading the flu. There are no plans to close subway stations or routes because of the outbreak.
Hospital Scene
Mexico City hospitals have enough staff and medicine to confront the epidemic, Villasenor said.
Gabriela Galan, nursing supervisor at Dalinde Centro Medico in Mexico City, said that while the hospital has received patients seeking consultations, none have been diagnosed with swine flu. The hospital isn’t experiencing long waits and has the medicine and capacity it needs, she said. Doctors and hospital personnel are washing their hands before seeing patients and using masks, she said.
Many organizations are heeding the government’s call to avoid events that generate crowds. A conference today in Mexico City to provide results of a national survey on philanthropy was called off because of the warnings the government has made, according to a statement from the organization.
Business Operations
Businesses, such as The Home Depot Inc., are operating normally in Mexico City and surrounding areas. The company said in a statement it has issued breathing masks to all its employees and is handing them out free of charge to customers.
Alfa SAB, a Monterrey-based maker of engine parts and petrochemicals that employs more than 50,000, said it’s recommending workers avoid flying to Mexico City. The company is providing flu shots, hand sanitizers and masks to employees, especially in Mexico City and the states of Mexico and San Luis Potosi, Enrique Flores, an Alfa spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Grupo Aeromexico, the Mexico City-based airline, said it won’t charge customers to change or cancel flights between April 24 and May 31 to help people adjust travel plans because of the flu outbreak.
Mexico’s currency and stock market plummeted on investor concern the epidemic will undercut an already weak economy.
The benchmark Bolsa stock index fell 3.3 percent to 21827.11 at 4:05 p.m. New York time. The peso sank 4.5 percent to 13.9635 per dollar.
To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Black in Monterrey attblack@bloomberg.net; Jens Erik Gould in Mexico City atjgould9@bloomberg.net
By Thomas Black and Jens Erik Gould
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aH8DeSCFHnJY&refer=latin_america
