Restaurant ban, panic buying in Mexico as flu deaths rise (Roundup)

Apr 28, 2009, 22:44 GMT

Mexico City - The government of Mexico City banned eating in restaurants and toughened measures Tuesday to constrain the flu epidemic, ordering the closure of gyms, clubs, cabarets and billiard rooms.

At least 152 people have died of flu in recent weeks in Mexico, though still only 20 of the deaths have been confirmed by Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos as swine flu.

Supermarkets in Mexico City started to report panic buying in the face of the outbreak, amid rumours that the government may impose event stricter measures to hinder the virus' spread.

Many people reportedly sought to stock up on tinned food, cereal, water and biscuits, as well as meat, chicken and fruit. Television showed long queues at chemists outside the capital, as people sought to buy face masks.

The National Association of Self-Service and Department Stores said in a statement that shops were to remain open as usual and asked that people refrain from panic buying and hoarding.

School and university classes have been suspended across the country until at least May 6.

Public gatherings including shows, masses and football games have mostly been suspended or performed before empty pews and stands.

Costa Rican authorities on Tuesday confirmed one case of swine flu, which is the first laboratory-certified infection among Mexico's southern neighbours in Central America. Costa Rican Health Minister Maria Luisa Avila said that the patient, a 21-year-old woman in the San Jose metropolitan area, was not seriously ill after having returned Saturday from Mexico.

There were suspected cases of swine flu reported across much of Latin America: in Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Uruguay and Guatemala.

Brazilian authorities were evaluating 20 suspected cases of swine flu across eight states, the Health Ministry said Tuesday.

Cuba on Tuesday suspended all flights to and from Mexico for 48 hours to prevent spread of the swine flu virus, Cuban Public Health Minister Jose Ramon Balaguer said in a statement. The Cuban government said that it had seen no suspected cases of swine flu.

In the Mexican capital, all 25,000 restaurants are allowed only to sell takeout food, Mexico City Interior Minister Jose Angel Avila said Tuesday. If they fail to comply, proprietors will be subjected to fines and outright closure.

Juan de Dios Barba, president of the Employers Association of the Republic of Mexico, questioned the move and said it was likely to cause losses of some 30 million dollars per day in the culinary industry. He said that epidemic-related restrictions on hotels, shops and entertainment including cinemas and theatres could sufer losses reaching 110 million dollars per day in the capital alone.

Authorities recommended that people not buy food from street vendors - often of dubious hygiene - in the coming days.

Most of the confirmed flu deaths have been occurred in Mexico City and its metropolitan area, which holds some 20 million of Mexico's 105 million people.

On Tuesday, Mexico was set to start testing samples from suspicious flu cases in its own laboratories instead of sending the samples to labs in the United States and Canada.