Swine Flu Schools Reopen, Widow Annoyed At Bloomberg

Today, 20 public schools that had been closed after many students were absent (due to flu-like symptoms) are reopening, but 17 schools/programs are closed or are closing. IS 238 is among the reopened schools; the school's assistant principal Mitch Wiener was the city's first fatal swine flu victim. His widow spoke out, puzzled that Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday, "In some senses, if you have H1N1 [virus], you should consider yourself lucky because it so far seems to be a milder flu than the garden variety." Bonnie Wiener, still reeling from her husband's death, said, "I'm not feeling very lucky. I'm sorry I can't agree with that. My children are not feeling very lucky either." Bloomberg had been trying to reassure New Yorkers after the second swine flu death—a woman in her 50s with an apparent underlying health condition—and the Daily News notes he backtracked, "It's very sad that those that we've lost are gone, but the good news is that so far it does seem to be a relatively mild flu."