Kerala: Kozhikode schools reopen as Nipah scare subsides; face mask made mandatory for students, staff

Schools in Kerala’s Kozhikode reopened after 10-day long Nipah restrictions announced by the district administration due to the Nipah virus outbreak has been lifted. To avoid surge in cases, students and staff have been advised to cover their nose and mouth with face masks. Schools have been asked to keep sanitisers and ask everyone in the premises to use them frequently. “After 10 days of long holidays announced by the district administration due to the Nipah outbreak, schools in the district have reopened. Online classes were going on in those days to prevent children and teachers from coming to schools. Students and staff are advised to wear face masks, and schools are also keeping sanitisers,” Headmaster of MIUP School, E. Ashraf, said. For over a week, Kozhikode has not reported any fresh case of Nipah virus. The district authorities, last week, exempted all the wards of the nine panchayats in Vadakara Taluk from the containment zone and announced further relaxations in the remaining containment zones. Also, relaxations were announced in all the wards of Feroke Municipality and seven wards of Kozhikode Corporation, which are within the containment zone. Announcing relaxation, authorities said the quarantined individuals after coming in contact in Nipah-positive patients should remain in quarantine until they receive any further instructions from the state health department. Though normalcy is returning in Kerala, people of the state have been advised by health officials to continue following all the general Nipah vigilance restrictions, such as masks, using sanitisers, and practicing social distancing. The last reported positive Nipah virus case in the state was on 15 September. A total of six cases of Nipah infection have been confirmed in the state, with two fatalities and four individuals currently undergoing treatment. With inputs from agencies