Mexican students return to class

[Newsroom]

MEXICO CITY - Millions of children, many wearing surgical masks, returned to scrubbed and disinfected classrooms Monday after a nationwide shutdown to curb the spread of swine flu in Mexico. The worldwide toll of deaths linked to the illness rose to 61.

China, meanwhile, was ramping up efforts to control the disease after a Chinese man who had been studying at the University of Missouri became the mainland's first confirmed swine flu case.

Health authorities in Beijing scrambled to find and quarantine more than 200 people who accompanied him on a flight to China, transmitting messages by radio, television and telephone text asking the passengers to contact officials.

Six of Mexico's 31 states put off reopening schools for a week amid a rise in suspected flu cases in some regions, and a seventh ordered a one-day delay. Some parents were worried about sending their children back so soon.

"Imagine with this disease. What if she gets it?" said Filomena Pena Carriles, lining up outside the Ignacio L. Vallarta elementary school in Mexico City with her 8-year-old daughter Esmeralda, who wore a mask as she waited for teachers to begin checking each of the 135 students for flu symptoms.

The school suspended gym classes and all ceremonies for at least a week as an added precaution, said Maria Magdalena Ruiz, a teacher.

Officials said any students with sympton sent home. They also washed hands of students with sanitizing gel.

While Mexicans are feeling a little more relaxed, the swine flu outbreak is continuing to spread around the globe, with international health authorities reporting more than 4,700 confirmed cases in 30 nations. There are 61 deaths tied to the virus — 56 in Mexico, three in the U.S., one in Canada and one in Costa Rica. full story