MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico announces reopening of schools, gradually returns to normality

Mexican officials lowered the influenza A (H1N1) virus alert level in the capital on Monday and said they will allow universities, cafes, museums and libraries to reopen this week, even as the number of confirmed cases topped 1,200 worldwide.

Mexican officials declared the epidemic to be waning at its epicentre, announcing that Wednesday will conclude a five-day closure of nonessential businesses they credit for reducing the spread of the new virus.

President Felipe Calderon said that higher education classes would resume Thursday and all other schools and government-run day care centres would reopen by May 11.

Global health officials urged countries to remain vigilant because the outbreak's spread around the world remains in its early stages, but there were no imminent plans to raise the pandemic alert level.

Raising the alert level to 6, the highest, would mean that a global outbreak of A H1N1 flu is under way. The World Health Organization uses the term pandemic to refer to geographic spread rather than severity.

“We do not know how long we will have until we move to Phase 6,” said Margaret Chan, head of the WHO. “We are not there yet. The criteria will be met when we see in another region outside North America, showing very clear evidence of community-level transmission.”

“Let me make a strong plea to countries to refrain from introducing measures that are economically and socially disruptive, yet have no scientific justification and bring no clear public health benefits,” Chan said. “Rational responses are always best — they are all the more important at a time of economic downturn.”