'Since the two new releases have been postponed, we will continue with the ongoing 'Agyaat' and 'Love Aaj Kal' for the second consecutive week,' Singh said.

With the restricted closure in the city - schools, colleges and cinema halls - most students have decided to take it easy for a week, though they don't plan outings or picnics in view of the flu.

'I plan to do some revision work and concentrate on my coaching classes as I shall be deprived of college,' said Lata Sangame, a final year science student of Patkar College, Goregaon.

Medicos have reported a spurt in anxious patients who suspect they have symptoms of swine flu.

'I get many people with ordinary symptoms of common cold, cough, fever etc which can be treated with normal medicines. It needs a lot of counselling to convince them that they may not be afflicted with swine flu,' said Himanshu Modi, a harried medico from Kandivli.

A non-resident Indian, Jaimini Oza, and his wife have been sporting masks as a matter of routine for the past six months or so. 'See, precaution is better. We travel abroad frequently, especially to the US. Initially, people gave us strange looks, but now nobody bothers,' Oza pointed out.

Incidentally, at Mumbai Aiport's domestic and international terminals, a majority of staffers and passengers wear masks, said frequent flyer, R. Marketwala, who has made a mask a compulsory personally accessory along with her laptop and other effects.

Despite the scare in Pune, where the maximum casualties have been reported, public taxis and buses to Mumbai have not seen a drop in traffic.

However, private taxi operators have noticed up to 25 percent drop in passengers, especially on the Mumbai-Goa sector and other seaside destinations on the Konkan coast.

'We operate a point-to-point service, with no diversions and just one mandatory halt for passenger convenience. Our taxis are plying as usual round-the-clock between Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nashik,' said A.L. Quadros, the Bombay Taximen's Union head.