Two deaths due to Nipah virus in Kerala have prompted authorities to declare several wards in seven panchayats as containment zones. Urging people not to panic, Kerala government on Tuesday confirmed two deaths due to Nipah virus in Kozhikode district.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a high-level review meeting at 4:30 pm on Wednesday.
CM Vijayan said in a Facebook post on Tuesday, “Nipah virus infection has been confirmed in Kozhikode district. Two people died due to infections. Of the four people whose saliva was sent for testing, two were Nipah positive and two were Nipah negative.”
List of wards that the health department has declared as Nipah containment zones – wards 1,2,3,4,5,12,13,14,15 of Ayanchery Panchayat; wards 1,2,3,4,5,12,13,14 of Maruthonkara Panchayat; wards 1,2, 20 of Thiruvallur Panchayat; wards 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 of Kuttiadi Panchayat; wards 5,6,7,8,9 of Kayakkodi panchayat; wards 6,7 of Villiappally panchayat and wards 2,10,11,12,13,14,15,16 of Kavilumpara Panchayat.
Restrictions in Containment Zones
-Those in the containment zones will not be allowed to go out, neither will any outsider be allowed to enter these zones. Police and Local Self Government Department have been asked to ensure that there is proper and strict barricading.
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-Only shops selling essential commodities like food have been allowed to open from 7 am to 5 pm, while there is no time restriction for medical shops and other health centres.
-Offices, banks, schools, anganwadis in these containment zones shall not function. Social distancing, use of mask and sanitisers has also been instructed in these containment zones.
Kerala chief minister on Tuesday urged people to not panic and to take precaution instead. “Everyone should strictly follow the instructions of the health department and the police and fully cooperate with the restrictions,” CM Vijayan said.
Talking to reporters in Kozhikode after receiving confirmation from the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, where the samples were sent for testing, state Health Minister Veena George said one of the people who was infected with the virus is a nine-year-old boy. George said out of the five samples, three have tested positive.
“The samples of the person who died yesterday and two others under treatment, including the nine-year-old boy, have tested positive,” she said. The death of the first person, on August 30, was initially considered a death due to the comorbidity of liver cirrhosis, she said.
“However, his son, the nine-year-old boy who is already in ICU, and his 24-year-old brother-in-law are the two positive cases that were detected today,” the minister said. The sample of the person who died yesterday also tested positive.
The minister added that two epicentres of the disease have been identified, which will soon be declared as containment zones by the district collector after following due procedure. The man who died on August 30 was 44 years old, while the person who died yesterday as a 40-year-old man.
