The Kerala government’s constant communication with the people of the state about Nipah, and their proactive measures to arrest the spread of the virus, seem to have gained the confidence of the people. On ground in Kochi city in Ernakulam district, there is no panic about the virus, and people are going about their business as usual.
On Tuesday, Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja in a press meet said that Nipah virus was confirmed in a 23-year-old man who has been admitted to a private hospital in Ernakulam. This confirmation came after two days, as the officials waited for lab results from National Institute of Virology in Pune – it was on Sunday that the state came to know about a patient with symptoms of the infection being admitted under special care in an isolated ward at the hospital.
Since then, government officials have traced 311 people who were directly or indirectly in contact with the patient and are observing them. The young man had been to two other districts – Thrissur and Idukki, that makes the task tougher.
The message to keep calm and not panic has been received well by residents of Kochi. The busiest city in the state and Kerala’s only metro has been up and about.
“The turnout of people at the mall has not seen any decrease even though news about Nipah was confirmed,” said Krishna Kumar, who works at a food stall in Centre Square Mall in Kochi, “It is as much as any other weekday. However, there is a tinge of fear among workers here as they heard that Nipah was confirmed. Many are not natives of Kochi, they are living here for work. We will see how the situation develops in the coming days. As of now, we haven't received any info that shops should be closed.”
Like any other day, Sanoop, a resident of Kochi who works in the postal department was hanging out with his friends in a shopping mall. "We don't think there is a panic situation at present. It is only confirmed that a person is infected with Nipah. The officials have not yet traced how he got infected and the source is not clear yet. So there is no need for us to panic right now," Sanoop said.
His friend Jayadevan said that generally people have not gone overboard with fear because of the news.
“I heard the news this morning along with my mother, but even she was very contained and did not express any panic as officials have reassured that things are under control. So there is no point for everyone to be scared. After all, we have to face whatever comes our way," he said, and their friend Vishnudas nods.
Pamla, from Kadavanthara and an employee of a village office, also shared the opinion that there was no need as of now for people to panic. "People just need to follow the instructions that the officials are giving. It's not like there is a Nipah fever outbreak, we just need to take precautions," she said.
"It hasn't affected the trade so far, the business has been good. It may affect the business in the coming days as it did last year," said Rafeeq, a fruit seller at the busy Ernakulam market.
Navas, a wholesaler of fruits at the market has the same opinion. “The sale was actually good on Monday and Tuesday, particularly because of Ramzan. As of now it's as usual," he said.
Thayeesh, another fruit stall owner in the market also said that there was no specific decrease in business over the last two days. In 2018 when the state witnessed Nipah outbreak, the business of the fruit sellers had been adversely affected after it was confirmed that the virus was transmitted from a fruit bat.
Meanwhile Shanmugan, a streetside fruit stall owner in Kochi says that business has gone down for the past two days. "Usually we have good business during Ramzan, but now it has gone down. I have even started selling fruits at a lower price," he said.
"It was the same last year also, that too during the peak time of Ramzan sale. Today I had to discard around 40 kg of rotten fruits. Not that there is no sale, but it's very less," he said.