Kerala Nipah Virus: Amid the outbreak of Nipah Virus the state government has announced holiday for all the educational institutes in Kozhikode till September 24, 2023, stated media reports. Online classes will be conducted throughout the week while educational institutes like schools, professional colleges, and tuition centres will remain closed.
The exams for the literacy mission in Kozhikode were postponed earlier in all the government and private schools and colleges in the containment zones. The announcement for the closure of schools and colleges was made after one more case of nipah virus was confirmed which brought the total number of cases to six.
Kerala Nipah Virus Containment Zones in Kozhikode
Seven village panchayats including Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara have been announced as containment zones by the Kozhikode administration. Only essential services have been allowed in these areas and are allowed to function from 7 am to 5 pm.
Kerala Hospitals to form medical board
Kozhikode witnessed the first case of Nipah Virus in 2018 and a few cases were registered in 2021. Ernakulam witnessed Nipah virus in 2019. This is the fourth time that the viral infection has been confirmed in Kerala. The district collector has orders issued regarding the outbreak and disease control protocols for the state. It is being said that all the hospitals that are treating Nipah virus cases should form a medical board to meet twice a day and they should hand over the report to the health department.
Health Minister Veena George issued a contact list, informing that the contact list of infected persons has 1,080 people while 130 have been newly included in the list. Among all of these, 327 of them are health workers. The Health Minister has also informed that the number of people in the contact list is likely to increase as the test result of the person who passed away on August 30 has come out positive, making it the index case of Nipha in the district.