Mayor declares an emergency then backtracks

Mayor Pat M. Ahumada Jr. declared an emergency Friday aimed at containing the H1N1 flu amid claims that there were three other suspected cases of the potentially fatal virus in Cameron County, but he later backtracked.

By then, however, Ahumada's statements had enveloped the community in confusion.

His declaration of an emergency came at 1:45 a.m. in a press release that - unbeknownst to the Brownsville Independent School District administration - also contained the announcement that classes in the BISD were suspended until further notice.

Several hours later, the mayor said he had not yet declared an emergency.

By 4 p.m., he had abandoned the idea of declaring an emergency or calling for the closure of schools.

He backtracked after a closed-door meeting with BISD, Cameron County, state and city officials. Instead, all decided to see if any more cases of H1N1 were confirmed during the weekend and that the situation would be reassessed Monday. "We're working together," the mayor announced at a 4 p.m. press conference.

"How can you err on the side of caution?" Ahumada asked, saying that he is human. "It's never too late to learn," the mayor said, adding that he doesn't believe he overstepped his bounds or panicked when he tried to close schools on his own.

Earlier in the day, Ahumada said: "If somebody accuses me of anything, it's that - at least I tried to do something about it."

After Ahumada issued his early morning press release, BISD officials said the schools would remain open until the interim superintendent, school board and Cameron County health officials told them otherwise.

BISD Spokeswoman Drue Brown said district officials spoke with county health officials Friday morning and they were told that there are no suspected or confirmed cases of the virus within the district.

Debbie Graves Ratcliffe, spokeswoman for the Texas Education Agency in Austin, said only the school district and health authorities have the power to order any school closures.

Ratcliffe said she had not heard of any other school districts in the state where a mayor tried to order school closures.

"This is the first" of its kind, Ratcliffe said.

Brown said that "any decision regarding the closure of schools would be made after consulting with city health officials, county health officials and the state health officials."

Ahumada said that if he didn't have the authority to direct the schools to be closed, so be it, but: "We're talking about our children here."

The mayor claimed that BISD had not made him aware of a "case" at an elementary school, but Brown again reiterated that neither confirmed nor suspected cases have been reported.

The mayor said that there have been two confirmed cases: the toddler from Mexico City first seen at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Brownsville and then Houston's Texas Children's Hospital where he died, and the Brownsville toddler who is being treated at Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio.

Ahumada said the Brownsville toddler's brother might have the virus and that the mother of a 13-year-old boy told him that her son had the virus.

The mayor said he helped the youth's mother admit him at the Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville Thursday night. The mayor also claimed that he learned that there was another toddler at the medical center with the virus.

"The potential of five cases merits some kind of response," Ahumada said.

"I am doing what I think is best. Am I to sit here and do nothing and ignore it?" the mayor said.

At the press conference, the mayor backtracked and said that swine flu had not been confirmed in the case of the 13-year-old boy but that he had the type of "seasonal flu" that could develop into H1N1.

Also at the press conference, the mayor again urged the community not to be fearful.

At Kenmont Montessori School on Coria Street, school officials were giving parents the option of leaving their children at school or taking them home, said school employee Rafael Gomez.

Gomez said, while some parents were dropping off their children, others were taking them home. However, he could not say whether more were staying or leaving.

There has been no decision to close the school, he added. The school will follow whatever decision BISD decides regarding school closures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Friday that response actions are generally aggressive throughout the country, but that they may vary across states and communities depending on local circumstances.

eperez-trevino@brownsvilleherald.com