A travel advisory had been issued in view of the Nipah outbreak and has now been retracted after the incubation period has passed.
In the wake of the Nipah Virus infection in Kerala which took 16 lives, the Kerala government had earlier issued a travel advisory asking people to avoid the districts of Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur. This advisory has now been withdrawn.
Additional Chief Secretary of State Health and Family Welfare Department, Rajeev Sadanandan, issued a circular on Monday stating that it was now safe to travel to any part of Kerala.
“Consequent to cases of infection of Nipah virus being detected in Kerala, we had issued Health Advisories on 22nd and 25th May 2018 for persons travelling to Kerala. No new cases of infection have been reported in Kerala for the last 21 days. Since this is more than the longest recorded incubation period of the virus, we consider the Nipah outbreak to be over in Kerala. Therefore, our Health Advisories regarding the traveling to Kerala stands withdrawn. It is now safe to travel to any part of Kerala,” the statement read.
The virus was first detected in Kozhikode after three members of a family died from similar symptoms that all of them exhibited. The virus further claimed the lives of others in the locality and was also detected in Malappuram district as well.
Kerala State Health Minister, KK Shailaja, on Sunday announced that the last two confirmed cases of Nipah had recovered and that the infection had been contained.
The state Health Department also confirmed that no new cases have been reported since May 17.
Schools, which were closed due to the virus scare, were also ordered to reopen on Tuesday and the ban on public functions has also been lifted.