Traders Sneeze, Peso Catches Cold—or Flu

Alert level lowered after no new infections reported for a week

(NEWSER) - Mexico City has lifted all measures introduced to curb the spread of swine flu, and changed its alert status to the lowest level, the BBC reports. "We can calm down now," said Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, telling residents they no longer have to wear masks. No new cases of the H1N1 strain have been reported in the city for over a week. More»

Calderón orders citizens to stay home for 5 days

(NEWSER) - The Mexican president told citizens to stay home tomorrow through May 5 for a five-day partial shutdown of the country's economy to reduce the risk of spreading swine flu, Reuters reports. In his first televised address since the outbreak, Felipe Calderón said that "there is no safer place than your own home," and ordered non-critical government offices and private businesses to shut. More»

Airlines decline while drugmakers advance; Mexican peso tumbles

(NEWSER) - Stocks declined worldwide today, with travel companies leading losses as investors gave their first reaction to the outbreak of swine flu. Airlines took a pummeling—Lufthansa fell more than 12%, British Airways 8.7%—and tour operators like Carnival also suffered sharp drops. But pharmaceutical companies did well: drugmaker Roche, which manufactures Tamiflu and other anti-influenza drugs, shot up 4%. More»

(NEWSER) - President Barack Obama was exposed this month in Mexico to a potential case of swine flu the day before the ailing Mexican official died, reports the Independent. Distinguished archeologist Felipe Solis, who met Obama at a state dinner, showed the president around Mexico's anthropology museum 11 days ago during Obama's visit to Mexico. Solis died the following day from "flu-like symptoms," according to Mexican press reports. Mexican officials deny Solis suffered from swine flu, and said he died of pneumonia. More»

(NEWSER) - Schools and museums are closed, sold-out soccer games are being played in empty stadiums, and health workers are ordering sickly passengers off subways and buses. At nightclubs, teenagers are dancing with surgical masks on. Mexico City is grappling with what authorities fear is ground zero for a global epidemic of a new kind of flu—a strange mix of human, pig, and bird viruses that appears to have killed 68 people and has sickened more than 1,000. More»