New York, NY —

Mayor Bloomberg says he expects federal officials to confirm the presence of swine flu at P.S. 177 in Queens. The special ed school is blocks from Saint Francis Prep, the epicenter of New York City's outbreak. So far, there are 49 confirmed cases of swine flu, most at Saint Francis, and 13 probable cases. Mayor Bloomberg says a second Queens public school, in Flushing, has reported a high number of student absences, but he does NOT think there's another outbreak there.

BLOOMBERG: A team from the health department has also been at the school since first thing this morning interviewing students and staff and so far we found no children with illnesses consistent with flu, and no documented clusters of illnesses among the students who are absent.

Bloomberg says health officials are scrutinizing any school reporting a high number of absences, as a precaution. He says parents should not jump to any conclusions if their child or other children are out sick, but wait for confirmation from health department officials instead.