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LISA MULLINS: I'm Lisa Mullins, and this is The World. Swine flu showed up in more people and more places today. As we're going to hear in a moment, Spain has confirmed one case, and British authorities have confirmed two in Scotland. American health officials today doubled the number of confirmed cases in this country, from 20 to 40. The new American cases all come from a New York City school where swine flu has been reported previously. Today, President Obama tried to calm fears.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: This is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert. But it's not a cause for alarm.

MULLINS: Swine flu appears to have caused only mild illness here in the United States, but authorities in Mexico say as many as 150 people may have died from the disease in that country. Today, the US State Department urged Americans to avoid all non-essential travel to Mexico. The World's Lorne Matalon reports that the Mexican government is trying to control the outbreak by preventing people from congregating.

LORNE MATALON: At six o'clock this morning, a government agent showed up at a popular Mexico City cafe. He issued a strict order. He said, “You must close this instant. I'm sorry.” He explained the order came directly from President Felipe Calderon. The Mexican government has taken broad measures to control the spread of swine flu. Schools from Kindergarten to University remained closed today. Museums and movie theaters are also closed. The city seems as if it's in slow motion. Parks are near empty, the city's typically chaotic traffic has become manageable, and the few people out on the streets are wearing surgical masks known as “tapabocas”, or “cover-your-mouths”. Mexico City resident Armando Portillo expresses the view of many here.

ARMANDO PORTILLO: It's getting every day more seriously, this strange flu. And we are worried about it.

MATALON: Mexico City is eerily quiet. Yesterday, the Archbishop led mass on the radio after churches cancelled services across the city. And Mexico's popular Sunday soccer matches played in empty stadiums. Mexico's rabid soccer fans stayed home and watched the games on TV. Today, some Mexicans are asking why their government didn't act sooner to deal with the health crisis. As long ago as early March, some physicians reported an unusual number of deaths among otherwise healthy young men – severe flu-like symptoms being the common denominator. Only after several deaths were cultures sent for analysis in Canada, where swine flu was confirmed. That took weeks. Mexican Secretary of Health Jose Angel Cordoba says the government acted as fast as it could. He says, “It's necessary to verify, as with any type of infection, what germ it is. And in this case, because it is a virus, it's much more difficult.” The Health Secretary is reassuring Mexicans the country has sufficient supplies of anti-virals to treat those who become ill. But Mexicans are, by nature, skeptical of their government's claims. They recall numerous instances of the government drastically understating the scope of previous deadly events, such as the number of victims of a major earthquake in 1984. Carlos Zuniega is a political commentator.

CARLOS ZUNIEGA: On the one hand, we have the Mexicans wondering, asking, “Why didn't the government tell the country what it knew until just a few days ago?” On the other hand, they're also don't believe the government when it says it has the situation under control.

MATALON: Even if the situation is under control, life won't return to normal in Mexico City for some time. The government says it won't reopen schools from until the middle of next week at the earliest. And Mexico City Mayor, Marcelo Ebrard, says he may shut down all public transportation tomorrow. For The World, I'm Lorne Matalon, in Mexico City.

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