Mexico's death toll from swine flu virus rises to 22 preventing further infections (Roundup)

May 4, 2009, 3:40 GMT

   Mexico City - Swine flu has killed 22 people in Mexico, where there have been a total of 590 confirmed cases, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said.

   The last victim of the new virus died Wednesday, Cordova Villalobos said late Sunday. Fifteen of the dead were women and seven were men, he said. Sixteen people died in Mexico City.

   On Saturday, the minister confirmed 19 deaths and 503 infections and noted that most of the victims were between 20 and 40 years old.

   His announcement followed earlier warnings that the death toll could rise as more tests are carried out on the 159 people who have died recently in Mexico of the flu.

   Mexico is the epicentre of the global flu outbreak, which is caused by a new H1N1 strain of the virus that has genetic elements that come from three species - pigs, birds and human beings.

   Restaurants in Mexico City are currently banned from serving food on their premises. Mass events have been cancelled across the country, and football games, for example, were being played before empty stands.

   Cordova Villalobos established guidelines for a return to normality. He suggested that people present in such places be 2 metres away from each other. In restaurants, the recommendation would require that tables be spaced further apart. In cinemas, Cordova Villalobos said, people should leave three or four empty seats between one another.

   The authorities further discouraged the use of neckties, arguing that they are washed rarely. People were advised to keep using face masks and to wash their hands 'every hour.'