Kerala is free of Nipah; Safe to travel
There has been speculations about the safety of travellers to Kerala due to the recent Nipah outbreak. Though the state government has assured many times that it is safe to travel anywhere in Kerala except the four northern districts in the state where Nipah has hit, many has raised concerns about travelling. Today, eliminating all the confusions, the Health and Family Welfare Department, Ministry of Kerala has issued a notification regarding withdrawal of the advisory to the travelers to abstain from travelling to Kerala. The said advisory was issued on 22nd and 25th May on the outbreak of Nipah Virus.
The notification issued on 11th June 2018 states, since no case of infection has been reported in Kerala for the past 21 days, which is more than the longest recorded incubation period for the virus, the Nipah virus outbreak is considered to be over in Kerala.
As the advisory for travellers being withdrawn, there will not be any restriction for travellers to explore any part of Kerala
Nipah virus was first found at Kozhikode and Malappuram, which claimed 16 lives so far and around 2000 people were under close observation. In a press meeting held on 10th of June, Minister for Health K.K. Shylaja said there were no more new cases for Nipah reported and the virus infection can be considered to be contained.
There has been dramatic decline in number of foreign visitors to Kerala on the outbreak of Nipah virus, as most of the countries warned their citizens to avoid travelling to Kerala during this period. Number of domestic travellers was also less due to the fear of Nipah.
Tourism industry has welcomed the withdrawal notification of the travel restriction as it would revive the tourism sector, which was almost dormant during the Nipah fever fear.