Mexico extends school closures due to flu outbreak

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico will keep most of its schools closed until May 11 due to the flu outbreak that has killed at least 26 people in Mexico and raised fears of a pandemic in the rest of the world.

The government had originally shut schools throughout the country until May 6 to avoid children catching the H1N1 swine flu virus but extended the shutdown, Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said on Monday.

All schoolchildren up to the age of about 15 years old will stay off but older students will return on Thursday, he said.

(Reporting by Cyntia Barrera, Editing by Sandra Maler)