As the number of cases of swine flu continues to rise and the first U.S. death from the illness is being reported in Texas, local health officials are reminding New Yorkers that all of the city cases are no worse than a typical flu.

Five city schools are currently closed through Monday due to fears of flu contagion or fear of contact with flu victims.

Doctors are currently watching 10 city school students, including one whose sibling attends St. Francis Prep in Queens, seen above, where the city's outbreak seems to be centered.

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says tests on students from P.S. 177, near St. Francis Prep, are underway and that the Department of Education is watching the situation very closely.

"We haven't this morning heard about other schools where there are significant illnesses, so that's where we stand," said Klein.

City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said Wednesday afternoon that there are now 49 confirmed cases of swine flu in the city. Another two probable city cases are being tested by the CDC.

All confirmed swine flu cases have either associations with St. Francis Prep or Mexico, and none have been more severe than seasonal flu.

Frieden urged students at the affected Queens Catholic school to complete a questionnaire so the city Health Department can better understand the outbreak.

He dispelled rumors about clusters and outbreaks throughout the city, saying that emergency rooms are seeing an influx of worried people who think they might be infected.

"Nothing about this incident should make anyone more likely to go to the hospital. If however you feel really sick, you're having trouble breathing, you have an underlying problem like diabetes and you're sick, by all means, seek medical care," said Frieden.

In Brooklyn, officials at Mapleton's Bishop Kearney High School have closed the school through the end of the week as a precaution, according to a message on the school's website. There have been no confirmed cases at the school.

Good Shepherd school in Marine Park, had nine students come down with symptoms. The school was told one student tested positive for swine flu, but the Brooklyn Diocese and the Health Department have not confirmed that.

Officials stress that New Yorkers should take precautions, such as washing hands frequently and covering their mouth when they cough.

Anyone who has fever accompanied by cough or sore throat should stay home for at least seven days, and not return until a day or two after the illness resolves.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, newly-confirmed Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and national health officials have praised the city Health Department's treatment of the St. Francis Prep outbreak.

"The New York City Health Department is phenomenal. They do a superb job and they really lead the nation in their capacity in evaluation," said CDC Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat. "CDC is working closely with them in response to the situation there."

The Department of Homeland Security says it is monitoring U.S. border crossings, but says shutting down the border with Mexico will do nothing to reduce the spread of a virus that is already here. The agency says it is working closely with the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce the spread.

"The CDC, the public health community, and the World Health Organization all have said that closing our nations borders is not merited here," said Napolitano. "The public health focus, should be on mitigating the impact of this virus."

"To use our resources affectively, to make sure we are aggressively taking on this situation, but not reacting in a fashion that is not appropriate really is all about having the scientists tell us the best possible protocol," said Sebelius.

They also noted that the National Institutes of Health researchers are working on a swine flu vaccine, but that results could take months.

The CDC also announced Wednesday that the first U.S. death from swine flu was a 23-month-old boy from Mexico City who was visiting family in Texas. Hospital staff said he was suffering from "acute respiratory illness" and state health officials told the Associated Press that none of his close contacts developed symptoms.

"As I've been saying for the past few days, flu is a very serious infection and each virus is unique," said Acting CDC Director Richard Besser. "Though it's hard to know what we're going to be seeing. But given what we've seen in Mexico, we have expected that we would see more severe infections and we would see deaths."

Napolitano said that the outbreak has been far less severe than an average seasonal flu epidemic, which kills about 36,000 nationwide each year.

At a news briefing Wednesday afternoon, Governor David Paterson and state health officials said there are three other probable swine flu cases in Orange, Cortland and Suffolk Counties. Another 75 cases across New York State are also under investigation.

The governor says preparing for the worst is the best way to prevent the worst from happening.

"All precautions are being taken. We are treating this and have been for the last week as if this is a virus that would spread and we are preparing ourselves for the worst-case scenario but at the same time we have not identified anyone who was healthy who has become critically ill as a result of this virus," said Paterson.

The governor said the first shipments from the federal stockpile of Tamiflu have arrived at medical centers across the city and state.

Officials are also investigating a third cluster at Ascension High School on 108th Street in Manhattan.

Over the weekend, a student became sick and went to the doctor; six other students were sent home Tuesday. However, there are no confirmed cases of swine flu.

The school remains open today and the New York Archdiocese says the school is safe for students and teachers.

"I think hopefully people will hear and there will be level heads and things will calm down," said the Reverend John Duffell of Ascension High.

Some families, however, kept their children home from school Wednesday.

"I decided to take her home because of the 21 kids in her class, there are only three or four there," said Clotilde Aponte, a grandparent of an Ascension High student.

There are now 91 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States in 10 states, including Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada and Indiana. Most of those cases have been mild.

"Schools with confirmed or suspected cases should consider closing so we can be as safe as possible," said President Barack Obama today. "If the situation becomes more serious and we have to take more extensive steps, parents should think about contingencies if schools in their area shut down."

The president also asked Congress for $1.5 billion in additional funds Tuesday to help build drug stockpiles, monitor future cases and aid efforts to combat the outbreak globally.

The World Health Organization says a global outbreak of the disease could be imminent, and raised its pandemic alert to phase 5 on the 6-phase scale.

Germany and Austria have confirmed cases of swine flu – the third and fourth European country where cases have surfaced.

Three cases have been reported in German, along with a single case in Austria.

Cases have also been reported in Britain and Spain. New Zealand has also confirmed 14 cases with 44 possible cases.

Swine flu has also been detected in Canada, Israel and Scotland.

Both Argentina and Cuba have banned flights from Mexico, while Cuba is also banning outgoing flights to the country.

All schools in Mexico are closed for at least a week and officials have closed most public places.

More than 150 people are now suspected to have died from the swine flu in that country and more than a thousand are believed to have been infected.

Mexican health officials believe a five-year-old boy may be patient zero for the swine flu outbreak.

Edgar Hernandez has recovered from the earliest documented case of swine flu. He lives in La Gloria, Mexico, where a flu outbreak began about a month ago.

Pig farms surround the small mountain village where he lives.