Mexico Trying To Return To "Normalcy" After Swine Flu Shutdown

Mexico mobilized teachers and parents across the country to disinfect schools and monitor millions of students for signs of swine flu as high schools and universities prepared to reopen Thursday after a two-week closure

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Mexico Turns To Humor To Endure Flu Epidemic

Televisa is cutting all "nonessential" kisses from its soap operas. A song called the "Influenza Cumbia" is climbing the charts. Cringe-worthy swine flu jokes are spreading faster than the illness ever could.
As Mexicans lock themselves inside in fear of the virus, they can't help but have a little fun with it as well.
The surgical masks that Mexicans have donned by the millions have become canvases for creativity, with some adorning their protective coverings with painted-on monkey mouths, outsized mustaches or "kissy lips."
Newspapers offer smiley cutouts for people to paste to their masks, and some drivers have fashioned masks for their cars.
Dog lovers walk the streets of Mexico City with matching masks for their pooches, though doctors have yet to confirm that chihuahua-to-chihuahua transmission is a major public health threat.

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Swine Flu Concerns Spread To The Church

Archdiocese: Catholic New Yorkers don't have to shake hands during Mass over swine flu concerns

By Corky Siemaszko

For Catholic New Yorkers worried about catching swine flu, a nod or a wave of peace will do.
"A person does not need to shake hands" at the point in the Mass when the priest asks parishioners to make a sign of peace, Joseph Zwilling, chief spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York, said Friday.
"There are various options for offering the sign of peace. A nod, a bow, and wave are all options."
With the world in the grips of a flu scare, local clergy got a reminder this week to take "common sense precautions," said Zwilling.
Among other things, priests were told to wash their hands before and after Mass - and to stock their sacristies with plenty of hand sanitizer. Full Story

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