Kerala Kozhikode Schools and Colleges to Remain Closed Until September 24 Due to Nipah Virus

Kerala Nipah Virus: As per media reports, the state government has announced that all the educational institutes in Kozhikode will remain closed till September 24, 2023, due to the outbreak of the Nipah virus. The educational institutes include schools, professional colleges, and tuition centres. Meanwhile, online classes will be conducted throughout the week.

Recently, all government and private schools and colleges in the containment zones postponed the exams for the then-ongoing literacy mission in Kozhikode. Following the confirmation of one more case of the Nipah virus on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to six, the schools and colleges closure announcement was made. 

Kerala Nipah Virus Containment Zones in  Kozhikode

The Kozhikode administration had announced that the seven village panchayats including Atanchery, Maruthonkara, Tiruvallur, Kuttiyadi, Kayakkodi, Villyapalli, and Kavilumpara - as containment zones. In these areas, only essential services are allowed to function from 7 AM to 5 PM. Earlier, the National Institute of Virology, Pune confirmed Nipah virus infection in Kozhikode.

Contact list of Nipah-infected people in Kerala

On Friday, Health Minister Veena George informed that the contact list of infected persons has 1,080 people while 130 have been newly included in the list. Out of all this 327 of them are health workers. A total of 29 people in other districts are on the contact list for the Nipah virus. Among them, 22 are from Malappuram, one from Wayanad and three each from Kannur and Thrissur. The Health Minister further informed that the number of people in the contact list is likely to increase as the test result of the person who died on August 30 has come out positive making it the index case of Nipha in the district. 

Kerala Hospitals to form medical board

All hospitals treating Nipah virus cases should form a medical board to meet twice a day. They should hand over the report to the health department. The district collector has issued orders regarding this based on the infectious disease control protocols of the state. This is the fourth time the viral infection has been confirmed in the state. It was detected in Kozhikode in 2018 and 2021 and in Ernakulam in 2019.

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