Swine Flu Is Spreading Citywide, At Least 51 Cases Confirmed

This year's hot new look for Spring is undoubtedly the surgical mask, and we're probably just moments away from seeing ironic, sequined twists on the timeless medical classic. To test whether New Yorkers are ready to embrace the latest must-have accoutrement, the Daily News's Edgar Sandoval took to the streets yesterday with his mask on, being sure to cough a lot (which he blamed on allergies). Reactions ranged from fearful to supportive, and in Times Square, Brooklyn's Daniel Dickie sagely observed, "With the mask, you look like you were full of germs." And last night Gothamist's Billy Parker (pictured at right) put safety first during a Mets game, eliciting countless cries of "Swine Flu!" and even a couple old school cheers of, "SARS in the house!"

But is New York ready for one NYU student's attempt to mine Swine Flu for ironic laffs? According to her Facebook page, "AmandaPanda Ellis" is hosting an invite-only "make-out party" for flu victims or wannabes. The tasteless (even by our low standards) invitation reads:

A lot of negative media has begun surrounding what is known in America as swine flu. News anchors and bloggers alike have been viciously attacking this condition, pointing out solely the unfavorable aspects, such as death. What the reports fail to mention, however, is that it also produces a need to dance til your pants fall off. Be yourself. Have Swine Flu. Kiss someone with Swine Flu. Eat sandwiches with muenster cheese and thinly sliced tomatos. F*ck it."

Ha ha, nothing gets you down when you're young and at NYU! Of course, one wonders when the nervous gallows humor will finally give way to palpable panic and dread; yesterday a second Queens school closed its doors after 12 students at PS 177, a school for autistic children near St. Francis, were found to be carrying the viral strain. And half a dozen children at Ascension School, a Roman Catholic school on 108th Street in Manhattan, have come down with fever and are being tested, the Times reports. State health commissioner Dr. Richard Daines tells Newsday there are 32 other suspected flu cases outside the city that the state will test to confirm, including four suspected cases on Long Island's Suffolk County.

City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden says, "It is here, and it is spreading." In fact, there are more confirmed cases in NYC at this moment than when we started writing this! Officials at the Centers for Disease Control say there are now 51 confirmed swine flu cases in New York City, with the nationwide total currently at 91, and one fatality. Officials encourage everyone to wash their hands frequently, and Frieden also cautions New Yorkers not to use medications like Tamiflu unless absolutely necessary, because "it may be needed by somebody who’s quite ill." Frieden also told the Times yesterday that "the big mystery is why the symptoms of those who have fallen ill so far in New York are mild, and whether the virus will just fizzle or get worse over time, becoming more like the outbreak in Mexico."

And although it's extremely rare for humans to be infected by being near a pig, the Post reports that poor Tabitha and Sabrina, two pigs at the Queens Zoo in Flushing, have been "all but ostracized" by visitors who won't let their children near them. But maybe they can swing an invitation to the NYU make-out party?