MEXICO CITY, (Xinhua) -- Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos said yesterday that a total of 42 A/ H1N1 flu deaths have been confirmed, up from 29 a day earlier, but the increase was due to testing catching up with samples, not a sudden increase in mortality.
This month has only seen two new deaths, he said. The total number of patients confirmed as infected rose to 1,112 from 866 a day earlier, he added.
Cordova said on Tuesday the nation had seen 214 deaths of people suffering symptoms consistent with A/H1N1 flu: a sudden increase in temperature, breathing difficulties, headaches and muscle pain. On Tuesday 37 samples were still pending, 74 had been ruled out and 77 did not have usable samples, meaning that they would never be confirmed or ruled out.
Yesterday, Cordova said that the top three most affected regions were Mexico City with 68 percent of infections, the state of Mexico immediately around the city with 12 percent, and San Luis Potosi with 7 percent of cases.
Last week, the Mexican government ordered that all educational institutions from nurseries to universities close in a bid to halt the spread of the virus, sending home around 33 million people, or a third of the population. High schools and universities are opening yesterday, and nurseries will reopen on Monday.
Mexico City halted the vast majority of activities that bring large numbers of people together, including courts, gymnasiums, bars, dance halls and churches. It began reopening courts and allowing some businesses to open yesterday.
According to the World Health Organization, 1,516 people across 22 nations have contracted A/H1N1 flu, previously known as swine flu. The United States is the second worst hit country with 403 confirmed cases, and two deaths, one of a Mexican toddler in a Texas hospital and the other a Texas resident living in Cameron County, along the US-Mexico border.
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