Mexico readied a ‘temporarily closed’ sign — taking the drastic step of ordering a suspension of nonessential federal government and private business activity as it tried to squelch a swine flu epidemic.
The World Health Organization ratcheted up an alert and warned that ‘all of humanity’ is threatened.
The dire warning showed that world health officials are very worried about the potential for massive numbers of deaths worldwide from the mutated virus, even though the epidemic so far has claimed only a confirmed eight lives in Mexico and one in the United States. Roughly 170 deaths are suspected of having been caused by the virus in Mexico.
The Phase five alert, indicating a pandemic could be imminent as the virus spread further in Europe, prompted Mexico to announce the partial May 1-5 shutdown, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Cordova said late Wednesday.
In Washington, President Barack Obama promised ‘great vigilance’ in confronting the outbreak which has sickened nearly 100 people in 11 states and forced schools to close. A Mexican toddler who visited Texas with his family died Monday night in Houston, becoming the first fatality in the US, and 39 Marines were confined to their base in California after one came down with the disease.
The virus, a mix of pig, bird and human genes to which people have limited natural immunity, has also spread to Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Germany, Spain, Israel and Austria.
‘It really is all of humanity that is under threat during a pandemic,’ WHO Director General Margaret Chan said in Geneva. ‘We do not have all the answers right now, but we will get them.’
In a televised address, Mexican President Felipe Calderon praised ‘the heroic work’ of doctors and nurses and asked his countrymen to literally stay in their homes between May one and May 5, saying ‘there is no safer place to protect yourself against catching swine flu, than in your house.’
‘In recent days, Mexico has faced one of the most serious problems in recent years,’ Calderon said Wednesday night. He brushed aside criticisms that his government’s response was slow, stressing several times that authorities had reacted ‘immediately.’
School in Mexico has already been canceled until May 6. During the shutdown, essential services like transport, supermarkets, trash collection and hospitals will remain open.
Calderon said authorities would use the partial shutdown to weigh whether to extend the emergency measures, or ‘if it is possible to phase out some’ restrictions.
The outbreak appeared to already be stabilizing in Mexico, the epicenter. Confirmed swine flu cases doubled Wednesday to 99, but new deaths finally seemed to be leveling off after an aggressive public health campaign was launched when the epidemic was declared on April 23.
Although 17 new suspected deaths were reported, only one additional confirmed death was announced Wednesday night, for a total of eight countrywide. The virus is believed to have sickened as many as 2,955 people across the country, though hospital records suggest the outbreak may have peaked here last week.
The WHO said the global threat is nevertheless serious enough to ramp up efforts to produce a vaccine against the virus. It declared a Phase five outbreak — the second-highest on its threat scale — for the first time ever, indicating a pandemic could be imminent.
In the US, eight states closed schools Wednesday, affecting 53,000 students in Texas alone.
Obama said his administration has made sure needed medical supplies are on hand. ‘The key now is to just make sure we are maintaining great vigilance, that everybody responds appropriately when cases do come up. And individual families start taking very sensible precautions that can make a huge difference.’
He praised the Bush administration for stockpiling 50 million doses of antiviral medications.
Ecuador joined Cuba and Argentina in banning travel to or from Mexico and Peru banned flights from Mexico. The Panama Canal Authority ordered pilots and other employees who board ships passing through the waterway to use surgical masks and gloves. An average of 36 ships per day use the canal, most from the United States, China, Chile and Japan.
In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy met with cabinet ministers to discuss swine flu, and the health minister said France would ask the European Union to suspend flights to Mexico.
The US, the European Union and other countries have discouraged nonessential travel to Mexico. Some countries have urged their citizens to avoid the United States and Canada as well. Health officials said such bans would do little to stop the virus.
Medical detectives have not pinpointed where the outbreak began. Scientists believe that somewhere in the world, months or even a year ago, a pig virus jumped to a human and mutated, and has been spreading between humans ever since. One of the deaths in Mexico directly attributed to swine flu was that of a Bangladeshi immigrant.
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