Nipah virus in Malappuram: Mask must; restrictions in Anakkayam, Pandikkad panchayats
The Hindu
Malappuram district imposes restrictions after 15-year-old tests positive for Nipah virus; schools closed, gatherings restricted, contact tracing underway.
People in Malappuram district have been asked to wear masks in the wake of a 15-year-old boy, from Pandikkad near Manjeri, testing positive for the deadly Nipah virus. The boy is under treatment at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.
District Collector V. R. Vinod has imposed restrictions for Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. When the boy hails from Pandikkad, the school he studies is in Anakkayam. Schools, colleges, madrasas, angawadis, and tuition centres in those panchayats will be closed.
People have been asked to avoid gatherings even for functions scheduled before. Marriage and other social gatherings should be restricted to minimal number of guests.
Shops will be allowed to function only between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. in Pandikkad and Anakkayam panchayats. However, medical shops will be exempted. Cinema theatres will not be allowed to function.
Minister for Health Veena George, supervising the government response to the Nipah case, said that people in the district should wear mask when going out. Students and teachers should wear mask at school and colleges.
The health authorities advised social-distancing in public places. “People should stay away from all kinds of functions, including marriage and other celebrations, until further orders,” said District Medical Officer R. Renuka.
Dr. Renuka said that people should approach a doctor when they display fever symptoms, and they should never resort to self-treatment. “Fruit suspected to be bitten or partly eaten by bats, birds or any other animal should never be consumed. People should wash vegetables and fruits well before consumption,” she said.