Washington  - The swine flu virus spread to 36 US states with a total of 286 confirmed cases, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Monday.

The daily update added another six states and 60 cases to Sunday's tally for the US.

The report came as Mexico, the epicenter of the hither-to unknown influenza, started relaxing some of its restrictions and reduced its alert from red to orange. Restaurants, cafes, administrative offices and court buildings may re-open from Wednesday, provided that they respect certain health requirements.

In the US, a number of schools remained closed, under a 14-day shut-down guideline from US health officials.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in Switzerland has kept the global alarm level at 5, one step short of the declaration of a full epidemic, which would be level 6.

Earlier Monday, the Geneva-based World Health Organization confirmed 1,025 officially reported cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection in 20 countries.

Only Mexico and the US have reported any deaths. For Mexico, the death toll was 25, while for the US, it was one - a Mexican toddler who was treated and died at a Texas hospital.