Swine Flu Outbreak Brings Normally Bustling Mexico City to a Near Halt

The scene looked idyllic. Two men on a bench on Avenida Alvaro Obregon soaking up sunshine. Birds tweeting in trees overhead. Barely a soul to break the tranquility.

But Salvador Hellmer, a briefcase at his feet, was not feeling tranquil. "Look at us! It's like a war, worse than war. This sort of thing doesn't happen in Iraq or Afghanistan."

The immediate source of his anger was Wings, a restaurant which closed its doors and forced the lawyer and his client to hold their meeting on a bench opposite. Neither was in the mood to savor sunshine, birdsong or a deserted street.

To avoid spreading swine flu almost all of Mexico City's estimated 30,000 restaurants have shut, with just a few operating a skeleton service for take-outs. Of all the edicts which have turned this metropolis of 20m people into a ghost town the one on eateries seems the most resented.

"Madness. Not even after the 1985 earthquake was it like this," said Juan Perez, 44, scrubbing the front of Julia's, a shuttered taco joint on Avenida Cuauhtemoc. "This is a disaster."

Mexico City, one of humanity's greatest conglomerations, a blur of chaos and movement and life, is slowing to a stop. Schools, cinemas, gyms and tourist sites have shut, businesses are staggering and crowds, a ubiquitous feature of this most social of capitals, have vanished.

The few who venture out try to reduce risk of infection by keeping distance from others and not touching things with their hands. The church of Our Lady of Rosario was empty all morning save for one female parishoner who opened the door with her foot.

Parents are keeping children indoors, driving them stir crazy. "My little ones are running riot but what can I do? There's only so much TV and homework they can bear," said Carmen Ramos, a shopkeeper.

Crime rates have fallen, air quality has greatly improved and birds are audible on what once were thronged thorough fares.

But anxiety and uncertainty prevents people savoring that. The authorities have said the city's lock down may last indefinitely. "We have to get used to the idea that we are going to live with this virus for a long time," said Marcelo Ebrard, the mayor.

Some 159 people are thought to have died from swine flu and 2,498 are suspected to have the virus. A mercifully small number of victims so far, given the apocalyptic warnings, but the economic impact has been brutal. "Epidemic of losses", ran the banner headline in today's Excelsior's newspaper.

The business chamber says the shutdown is costing Mexico City $57m a day. Tourism has evaporated, proving there is such a thing as bad publicity. Archaeological sites, including Aztec pyramids and Maya temples, are off-limits nationwide. Hotel occupancy in Mexico City is down to under 10%.Argentina and Cuba have suspended flights and if France gets its way the European Union will follow, compounding Mexicans' sense of isolation.

The one trade which is booming is sales in surgical masks. Pharmacies ran out of stocks several days ago but masks can be bought on the black market for more than $1 each, a huge mark-up.

"This can't go on," said Daniel Martinez, 46, the driver of a pesero, one of the city's bone-jarring mini-buses. "Look at that," he jabbed a gloved thumb behind him. Every seat was empty save for one at the very back occupied by a middle-aged man wearing a mask. "It's like driving phantasms."