Second Swine Flu Death in the U.S.

CNN has reported that a second person has died in the U.S. from swine flu. According to the news, "The woman... was from Cameron County in South Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services said the woman had "chronic underlying health conditions," but did not provide more details."

Meanwhile, New York has 90 confirmed cases. According to CNN report, the H1N1 virus is no more dangerous than seasonal flu. Has the virus mutated to the point that it's no longer very dangerous?

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was quoted as saying: "What the epidemiologists are seeing now with this particular strain of H1N1 is that the severity of the disease, the severity of the flu -- how sick you get -- is not stronger than regular seasonal flu."

So where does this put us? Are we to treat this as a simple outbreak of seasonal flu and take off our masks? Should we be fine traveling on airplanes and visiting crowded public places? No need to quarantine any longer? Did I buy all those masks for nothing?