A decision on when to reopen the school will be made by Wednesday afternoon; parents and employees will be notified when that decision is made.

''We are working with the Centers for Disease Control to ensure all necessary precautions have been taken and all our residents are brought up to date,'' said Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper.

In addition to the Broward case, a boy in Lee County also has H1N1 flu, according to Gov. Charlie Crist.

As of Friday morning, eight suspected cases from Florida had been sent to CDC labs in Atlanta for final analysis. With the two cases confirmed, the status of the other six was unclear.

Crist, who has assured the public the state is ready to manage an outbreak, declared a public health emergency Friday and directed state Surgeon General Ana Viamonte Ros to help manage the emerging crisis. He said little else.

Dr. Viamonte Ros said the two cases are likely not isolated and that more will soon be reported.

''We cannot predict the course of this outbreak, how it will affect our state. We do expect to see more cases in the coming days and weeks,'' she said.

Viamonte Ros urged people to wash their hands, avoid coughing in hands and to stay home if they feel sick. She said people shouldn't take anti-viral drugs unless prescribed them by a physician, and said physicians shouldn't prescribe them unless a person is sick.

She said the state has numerous monitoring stations and is in contact with physicians and pharmacies to help alert the state to any potential problems.

The state has set up a toll-free infomation line for the H1N1 virus, 1-800-775-8039. Masks and antiviral medications have been distributed throughout the state, and CDC guidelines are on the Department of Health's website, www.doh.state.fl.us.

Influenzas run in three-month cycles in most cases, she said, and a case of the flu generally lasts from five to seven days.

''As we seen with many other incidents in Florida -- whether they be anthrax, floods, wildfires or hurricanes -- Floridians are resilient people and Florida has a very resilient response system,'' Viamonte Ros said.

Under the emergency declaration, which lasts for 60 days, Viamonte Ros can impound medicines, reactivate inactive physician licenses and order the quarantine, examination, vaccination, test or treatment of any individual. Those who are unwilling to be examined, tested, vaccinated or treated due for reasons of health or belief can be involuntarily quarantined.

In its daily briefing Friday, the CDC increased the number of confirmed U.S. cases of the H1N1 flu to 141 in 19 states -- not counting the two new cases in Florida. On Thursday the number was 109 cases in 11 states.

The only U.S. death is that of a 23-month-old boy in Texas who contracted the disease in Mexico. Health officials point out that the regular, seasonal flu kills an average of 36,000 Americans each year and infects millions.

The CDC added the following states Friday to its list of confirmed cases: New Jersey with five cases, Delaware with four, Illinois with three, Colorado and Virginia with two, and Minnesota and Nebraska each with one. The CDC reported one case in Kentucky and none in Georgia, while Georgia officials report one case there -- that of a sickened Kentucky resident who traveled to Georgia.

The CDC previously had confirmed cases in New York, Texas, California, South Carolina, Kansas, Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada.

''We do expect more cases in more states,'' Dr. Anne Schuchat, the CDC's director for science said at an afternoon telebriefing.

She said the CDC has sent 13 million courses of antiviral medicine from its Strategic National Reserve to state health departments. And she said Kathleen,Sebelius, the new secretary of Health and Human Services, has decided to buy 13 million more courses to replenish the stockpile.

Also at the briefing, Dr. Nancy Cox, director of the CDC's influenza division, said studies of the virus in six countries, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, are finding that the strains in the different countries are 99 percent to 100 percent identical. It's good news, she said, because it hints that the virus is not mutating.

''It means it will be somewhat easier to make a vaccine,'' she said.

Still, she said, no vaccine is expected until the fall.

Cox also said the current H1N1 strain so far appears less virulent than in the infamous flu pandemic of 1918 that killed millions worldwide. But she added that scientists do not fully understand the 1918 virus.

The CDC Friday issued new guidelines recommending that communities with lab-confirmed cases of H1N1 flu consider closing schools and child-care centers -- taking into consideration the number of cases, the severity of illness and other factors.