Today, April 27, 2009, The European Union health minister advised Europeans not to travel to the United States or Mexico unless urgent. This followed the first confirmed case being discovered in Spain. One person in Spain has been confirmed as suffering from swine flu in Europe’s first case of the disease. A further 16 people are being tested for the flu.


On April 25, 2009, the WHO determined the situation to be a formal "public health emergency of international concern",


The United States of America has declared a state of Public Health Emergency. According to the New York Times, "the emergency declaration frees resources to be used toward diagnosing or preventing additional cases and releases money for more antiviral drugs," including the transfer of approximately 12 million influenza medications from a federal stockpile to states.


Mexico City, epicenter of the outbreak and home to 20 million people, looked like a ghost town. Millions of Mexicans stayed indoors on Sunday, trying to avoid a deadly new strain of swine flu.

Church services in this heavily Roman Catholic country were canceled -- the first time anyone could remember that happening.


Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea are among countries screening travelers for fever, while Hong Kong raised its swine-flu response level to “serious” from “alert.”

- Gagan
April 27, 2009


P.S. Some extracts from Wall Street Journal:

Most restaurants and movie theaters closed their doors, city parks looked desolate, and normally bustling streets had only a few dozen cars. Soldiers handed out blue surgical face masks on the streets. Professional soccer matches in Mexico City were played in front of empty stadiums but broadcast on TV.

"The city is paralyzed, what are we going to do?" asked Marta Robles, a housewife who went to a local pharmacy to buy a surgical mask. The pharmacy was sold out.

Schools and universities were to remain closed in Mexico City until at least May 6, officials said, affecting more than 6 million students

The government is bracing for a big slowdown in tourism, the country's third-largest source of foreign income

"We're renting about three times our normal volume, and most families are renting about six or seven videos at a time," said Daniel Lara, a 21-year-old checkout clerk. Mexico City residents hunkered down with their families indoors, watched news updates, and tried to relax. Local video stores said they were doing a brisk business.

Anyone who sneezed or coughed in the city immediately drew stares from other residents.

one Mexican custom was alive and well: Laughing at the possibility of death. A new song composed about swine flu is circulating on the Internet. Among the lyrics: "Now who's going to help us?/ Call in Superman/ We'll all be dead by the time Indiana Jones gets here."

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