Mexico City lowered its swine-flu alert level on Thursday, and the mayor said “we can relax” now that there have been no new infections for a week. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said the alert change means the risk of contagion is low and the situation is under control. “There's no longer any need” to wear surgical masks, he said. “Now you can come to the cit without any risk.” Ebrard urged Mexicans to remain vigilant and maintain sanitary conditions in crowded places. “The big lesson is that we understand what the scientists have been saying for a decade: that we have to be prepared for any possible virus that can appear,” he said. City Health Secretary Armando Ahued said nobody has been hospitalized with respiratory infections in the last three days, and no swine-flu cases have been confirmed since May 14. “We are seeing a 96.1 percent drop in cases, and that's why we are dropping the alert level,” he said. Since the outbreak of the H1N1 virus was declared on April 23, Mexico City has spent $334 million to purchase medicine and antibacterial gel, provide incentives for businesses to close, and clean public areas. The massive city was hardest hit by the influenza outbreak, which contributed to 75 deaths as it infected more than 3,800 people across Mexico.
