Mexico to end shutdown as flu epidemic wanes
Posted: 05 May 2009 0221 hrs

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MEXICO CITY: Mexico was on Monday preparing to reopen many businesses and tourist sites closed by its Influenza A (H1N1) flu epidemic after officials said the virus which has killed 26 people in the country looked to be under control.

But Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said while it appeared "the trend is slowing" for the epidemic, he warned: "There could be a resurgence, and that could occur in the next few days or even much later."

Laboratory tests on hundreds of suspect cases revealed four more deaths, bringing the total to 26. The number of infected patients detected since the start of the emergency on April 23 stood at 701, not including those killed.

The government and authorities in Mexico City - where most of the fatalities and infections occurred - said that from Wednesday they would start reopening venues closed nearly a week ago to prevent contagion.

Restaurants and other eateries would open first, followed by museums and religious centres on Thursday, the capital's deputy mayor, Jose Avila, said.

Nightclubs, cinemas and theatres will remain closed until further notice, he added.

The easing of restrictions was welcomed by Mexicans, most of whom were spending a five day holiday weekend at home, either at the urging of President Felipe Calderon or because no activities were available.

But the economic impact of the shutdown would be felt for some time to come.

The hospitality sector in the capital said the closure of indoor entertainment places was costing the economy 100 million dollars a day and putting 450,000 jobs at risk.

The finance ministry had said a more prolonged clampdown risked shaving some 70 billion dollars off gross domestic product.

Hardest hit was Mexico's tourism industry, which accounts for eight percent of economic output and is the third-biggest legal source of foreign revenue.

Hotels in Mexico City were down to 10 percent occupancy, and foreign visitors were virtually absent from the city centre. Sites such as Mexico's famed Aztec pyramids were ordered off-limits.

But Mexico's president told state television late Sunday that would change now it appeared authorities were about to "overcome" the virus.

"We have been able to hold or at least reduce the rate of propagation of the virus to contain the epidemic," he said.

His government was to look at when schools, which have been shut nationwide for more than a week, could resume classes. A sterilisation programme was underway.

Cordova said the H1N1 epidemic peaked in Mexico April 23-28, and the relatively fewer people now turning up for medical attention had "less and less serious" flu symptoms.

Of the 26 dead, 16 were women, the minister said, adding the age of the fatalities was between 21 and 40 years.

The government has defended its handling of the epidemic, saying officials had been prompt in acting, and the measures initially adopted had been prompted by a worst-case scenario of up to 50,000 deaths.

At the peak of the crisis early last week, the health minister had spoken of 159 "probable" deaths, prompting the World Health Organisation to raise its alert over the flu to warning a pandemic was "imminent." - AFP/de