Officials urge vigilance as Mexico returns to normalcy

Source: Xinhua | 05-07-2009 15:11

BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Mexican authorities on Wednesday allowed many of the country's businesses to reopen after a five-day shutdown while still calling for vigilance despite the waning A/H1N1 flu epidemic.

The government lowered the alert level from orange to yellow, which indicates medium risk, allowing restaurants, stadiums, bullrings, cinemas and nightclubs to reopen in the epicenter of the outbreak.

President Felipe Calderon said on Wednesday that the flue outbreak is not yet completely under control, although the flu virus seems less leathal as previously anticipated. According to the latest official data, the country has 1,112 confirmed A/H1N1 cases, including 42 deaths.

Measures taken by health authorities had helped check the disease before its accelerated spread, said the president during a visit to the eastern state of Michoacan.

Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos also stressed the importance of keeping vigilance on the A/H1N1 flu although the epidemic is waning.

The minister said it will take many weeks to eradicate the new flu although the country can declare that the epidemic is under control if no new cases are reported in 15 days.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed human A/ H1N1 cases has risen to 642 in 41 U.S. states, including two deaths, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Wednesday.

In Canada, the total confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases have risen to 201, according to the latest figures released by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The South Korean government on Thursday confirmed the nation's third patient of influenza A/H1N1.