Millions of Mexican children, many of them wearing surgical masks and clutching hand sanitizer, went back to classes on Monday after a two-week shutdown of schools because of the new flu virus.
The H1N1 flu strain has killed more than 50 people in Mexico, the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak that has spread to several dozen countries and sparked fears of global a pandemic.
Schools throughout Mexico were scrubbed from floor to ceiling last week and the 20 million students who returned on Monday were told to follow strict hygiene rules.
PHOTO: AP
“If everyone respects them, we’re going to have a safe and healthy return [to school],” Mexican Education Minister Alonso Lujambio said.
Some high school and university students returned last week as Mexico got back to normal after shutting down large parts of the country to prevent infection. Cinemas, offices, soccer stadiums and even churches were ordered closed.
Children arrived at school gates on Monday wearing face masks.
“I know it’s to protect us but the mask is very uncomfortable. It makes me itchy,” said Pamela, a 10-year-old pupil at a school in the capital.
The death toll in Mexico from the H1N1 flu outbreak that has spread globally has risen to 56, the health ministry said as results of tests on people who died in recent weeks came in.
Mexico has had a total of 2,059 cases of swine flu distributed throughout all but three of the country’s 32 states, Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said.
Mexico had previously reported 48 deaths from the new flu, a genetic mixture of swine, bird and human viruses.
Meanwhile, the Cuban Public Health Ministry on Monday evening announced the island’s first case of H1N1 flu infection in a Mexican exchange student.
A statement from the ministry said the case was detected after special monitoring of Mexican students returning to Cuba from Easter break.
State-run TV said that two students were hospitalized and quarantined, while 14 others with mild symptoms of colds or flu were under observation.
Cuban health officials previously examined 84 people from eight nationalities for possible infection from the new influenza strain, along with 511 Cuban patients. All tested negative for the virus, officials said.
The Public Health Ministry said it had tightened controls at airports and seaports, as well as monitoring at all health facilities nationwide.
“We are adopting all the necessary measures and have the resources, capacity and properly trained personnel to address the international situation and its evolution,” the ministry statement said.
Cuba suspended flights to and from Mexico on April 28.
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