This little piggy went to market,
This little piggy stayed at home,
This little piggy had roast beef,
This little piggy had none.
And this little piggy sneezed... and everyone went home...
OK, that's not exactly how it goes...
Here in Mérida signs of the Flu 'scare' are evident. Schools, churches, social events like baseball games, all but 'essential' services have been cancelled until at least May 6. The streets are fairly empty, we went out for lunch the other day and it was like a Sunday in that there was very little traffic out and the restaurant business was very slow. Lots of businesses are closed and a few people were wearing masks on the street. At the grocery store yesterday the workers were wearing both masks and gloves. Ports of Call (Progresso, Cancun, Playa, Cozumel, etc) have been cancelled, and of course the 'Avoid Mexico' warnings are really going to affect tourism. I think the planes are the biggest threat, but that's just me.
I had head people were making a run on the grocery store but yesterday the crowd was significantly less than normal, and Wednesday is a regular grocery run for me and many others since Wednesday is big discounts on produce (fruits, veggies, etc). I heard on the radio yesterday that the alert level was at 5, but today the US News says the WHO just raised it so maybe that was our local govt elevation.
We had garden workers here yesterday and they didn't leave till nearly 9pm; I was in no mood or energy level to fix dinner so Tom walked to the corner for Tortas, and he said La Poderosa was empty; now that is really unusual, La Poderosa is always hopping busy.
Another concern is for the financial stability of the small business people here that rely on us, and tourism to earn their living.
Here's a pretty good article just out http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/med_swine_flu
Well Tom and I are fine, so far healthy and safe, plus we sent the pig to the farm for the week, sort of a forced piggy vacation. OK, really, we don't have a pig. I don't know the state of the Tamiflu medicine here in Mérida, but I sure hope it's here if we need it! OK - I just sneezed so need to go wash my hands for 75 seconds, and then disinfect the keyboard with a bleach solution.
A friend sent this CDC recommendation on how to avoid the Swine flu - they say
"Don't do This"
Seems like good advice