Mexico Goes Into Economic Lockdown to Break Swine Flu Cycle

Mexico is braced for an unprecedented nationwide lock down today after the government ordered most of the economy to stop and for people to stay indoors for five days.

The nation of 111 million people will grind to a halt until 5 May in an effort to stifle the spread of swine flu, which is on the brink of becoming a global pandemic.

"There is no safer place than your own home to avoid being infected with the flu virus," Felipe Calderón, Mexico's president, said in a television address.

Shutting down government offices and businesses not essential to the economy was a painful but vital step towards preventing further infections, he said. "I know many of you have had to suspend your activities and may have seen your earnings fall but it is worth it if we can look after the health of our loved ones and protect Mexico from this evil," he said.

Functions such as transport, policing, supermarkets and hospitals will continue but otherwise the country will largely come to a standstill. It is already operating at half strength since earlier this week when schools, cinemas, restaurants, gyms and other services were closed or access to them was heavily restricted.

Celebrations for Dia del Nino, Day of the Child, have been cancelled today.

Such drastic measures were needed to break the reproductive cycle of the virus, the health minister, José Ángel Córdova, said.

At least 12 deaths in Mexico have been confirmed as being caused by swine flu, although authorities suspect that the actual figure is closer to 180 Many of the deaths occurred before proper tissue samples were taken. Last night health authorities revised official figures of swine flu cases, confirming 300 diagnoses among a total of 679 people tested so far.

The shutdown will be painful for Mexico's economy, which is already suffering from recession and a bloody drug war. Central bank analysts suggest the economy may have shrunk by as much as 8% in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2008.

The peso weakened sharply against other currencies after the government announced the new emergency measures.

Flu is costing the capital £59m a day, according to the mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, and unemployment could rocket if temporary lay-offs become permanent.

Tourism, worth 8% of Mexico's GDP, has evaporated. Several countries in the region have cut or restricted flights to and from Mexico and the EU could follow suit at the behest of France.

Cancun airport has been flooded by tourists trying to get out. The state of Quintana Roo, where Cancun is located, has yet to report cases of swine flu but several tourists were found to be infected after returning home. Archaeological sites have been shut.

Surgical masks have become so ubiquitous that even a major drug trafficker, Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa, alias El Caramuela, who was captured on Wednesday, was pictured wearing one surrounded by heavily armed federal police wearing theirs.

Supplies of masks are running out, prompting newspapers to publish diagrams and instructions to make homemade ones from cloth.

The announcement of the shutdown was Calderón's first address since the crisis broke. He has been criticized for staying out of public view while his government battled the epidemic.