Concerns over swine flu have closed three more schools this evening, including the first public school in Manhattan as officials probed whether the virus is linked to the death of a toddler and scrambled to contain it at Rikers Island.

The closures of  three more schools — PS 130 in Nolita, PS 35 in Hollis and the Merrick Academy in Jamaica, Queens — brings the total number of New York City public and private schools temporarily shut this week to 26 and counting.  Eighteen of those are public schools.

Earlier today, swine flu concerns closed a private school in the Bronx and the number of confirmed cases on Rikers Island has now risen from one case to five. The number of confirmed cases in Union County also grew to four and officials were confirmed swine flu in Sullivan County man who attended a Met game before becoming ill.

Horace Mann School, in Riverdale, announced today that it will close through the rest of the week. It’s the first Bronx school to close due to the swine flu outbreak, and won’t re-open until May 26. The school said it’s been monitoring an “unusually high number of student absences,” but none has officially been attributed to the swine flu, according to a released statement.

“The bottom line is a few more schools are likely to be closed,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said today. “I’d be surprised if that didn’t happen. We are not out of the woods yet.”

The swine flu is also spreading at the Rikers Island jail, Mayor Bloomberg said. There are five confirmed swine flu cases and five more probable cases. That’s up from just one confirmed case there on Monday.

As the schools are being shut, the New York City Health Department has conducted tests on nasal swabs from the child who died after being hospitalized with respiratory symptoms Monday night. These tests did not indicate H1N1 infection. Because the case was fatal, it is necessary to take extra steps to get definitive results. Tissue specimens taken on autopsy have been sent to the CDC for further analysis. Results of that analysis are expected later this week.

The parents of Jonathan Zamora Castillo, of Corona, noticed he was running a high fever last night and they rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital Center at 9:30 p.m. after the child began to turn blue, according to hospital spokesman Dario Centorcelli. The baby was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.

Meantime, a memorial service for the first fatality linked to swine flu in New York, Mitchell Weiner, is set for tomorrow.  Weiner, 55, an assistant principal at the Susan B. Anthony school, IS 238 in Hollis, died Sunday night after five days on a ventilator. 

City health officials say Weiner’s battle with the H1N1 virus was complicated by “pre-existing conditions,” including high-blood pressure.

Medical experts are urging people who might have an underlying illness that then come down with flu-like symptoms to seek medical treatment.

(Source: NBC New York / CBS2 HD)