MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- The municipal
government of the Mexico City Friday announced a series of immediate steps to
stop the flu outbreak in the city.
A man wearing a mask walks past a
Mexican flag in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, April 24, 2009. The
government of Mexico City is launching a massive vaccination campaign
throughout the city against swine flu, which has possibly killed dozens
nationwide. (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said at a press conference that
the main aim is to protect all the inhabitants of the city, especially
vulnerable people such as children and elders.
The Mexican federal government confirmed Friday the
death of 20 people due to the flu, whose sprout was registered on April 13 in at
least eight of the entire 32 states in the country.
Among the measures to be taken are suspensions of
public massive activities and handing out of masks at public transportation,
Ebrard said, adding that the city's health sector "has enough medicine to face
this virus."
A woman wears a mask as she takes subway
in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, April 24, 2009. (Xinhua
Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
The mayor said "the coming 10 days are of importance
to win this battle against the new virus."
According to the Mexican authorities, the epidemic
has been reported in Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Hidalgo, Baja
California, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosi, Tlaxcala and Veracruz.
The flu outbreak in Mexico is of swine kind, which
rarely affects people.
The World Health Organization said there had been 57
suspected deaths in Mexico from the outbreak of "swine flu."
MEXICO CITY, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President
Felipe Calderon on Friday held an emergency meeting at the Presidential Office
with ministers, health authorities and experts to discuss measures to deal with
the deadly flu outbreak.
Calderon also decided to inform Mexicans about the
nationwide flu outbreak. Full story
LOS ANGELES, April 24 (Xinhua) -- One new swine flu
case has been identified, bringing the total number of swine flu cases in the
United States to eight, health officials said on Friday.
The new case was identified in San Diego, about 80
miles (129 kilometers) south of Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Center for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). Full story
BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- China's General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine issued an
emergency notice Saturday night requiring people to report flu-like symptoms at
the point of entry when coming from the deadly swine flu affected places.
This is China's latest move in response to the
outbreaks of human infection of Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in Mexico and the United
States. Full story
HONG KONG, April 25 (Xinhua)
-- Hong Kong will step up local surveillance systems at boundary control points
and the public health laboratory in light of outbreaks of human infection of
Swine Influenza A/H1N1 in Mexico and the United States, the Center for Health
Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health of Hong Kong announced on Saturday.
Travelers from the affected places who are found to have
Swine Influenza symptoms at Hong Kong's boundary control points will be taken to
hospitals for further investigation. Laboratory testing for Swine Influenza will
be conducted for patients with influenza-like-illness who had traveled to the
affected places within 7 days before onset of symptoms.Full story
