Kozhikode, June 10: Schools in Kozhikode district are to reopen from June 12, following the restrictions imposed after the Nipah virus cases were reported in the region. According to a news report in The Times of India, on Sunday a review meeting was held at the Kozhikode district guest house at 11 am in which the local representatives were also present, the decision was taken. Earlier, after the outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala, schools were asked to be shut down even though summer vacation were over, and even public gatherings were restricted.

In the meeting, it was pointed out that no new Nipah cases have been reported after the death of a patient from Naduvannur on May 30. The results of the 12 samples sent for examination were negative, and no fresh cases of Nipah-suspect cases were admitted to the Medical College Hospital on Saturday. There is no addition to the list of people under surveillance. Therefore, the decision to lift the ban was taken based on the points raised during the review meeting.

Furthermore, the recent advisory issued by the health ministry also urged the people not to panic as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been closely monitoring the situation. The advisory reads,"As per the latest report of the Central High-Level Team, Nipah Virus disease is not a major outbreak, and only local occurrence limited to two districts Kozhikode and Malappuram in Kerala. Hence, there is no need for the public to be apprehensive about the safety of individuals and their family members."

Union Health minister Ashwini Choubey said that in Kolkata that the Nipah virus has been contained and there was no need to stay away from Kerala, where 17 Nipah virus-related deaths were reported. Besides that, the kin of the people who lost their lives due to the disease were treated in isolation. “We have treated the family of those persons who affected and died because of the Nipah virus. They were kept in isolation in Pune’s National Institute of Virology,” he said.

After the outbreak of Nipah virus in Kerala, the state was put on high alert. The virus initially took eight people's lives in Peramabra of Kozhikode district earlier. The National Institute of Virology, Pune, confirmed the presence of Nipah virus in three samples that were sent to the institute. According to WHO, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. Transmission of Nipah virus to humans may occur after direct contact with infected bats, infected pigs or from other NiV infected people.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2018 05:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).