India's southern state of Kerala, which had been grappling with the threat of Nipah virus, has finally lifted the travel advisory it issued last month.
It is now safe to travel to any part of the state, the government said in a statement. Last month, Kerala had issued high alerts in the districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram following Nipah outbreak, which has so far claimed 17 lives.
"No new cases have been reported for the past 21 days. Since this is more than the longest-recorded incubation period of the virus, we consider the Nipah outbreak to be over in the state," the statement said.
The virus has been brought under control. The government also said educational institutions, which were set to reopen on June 1, will start functioning from June 12.
"Nipah is under control now and no positive case has been reported. In this backdrop, it has been decided to relax the high alert issued in mid-May after the outbreak of the disease," health minister K K Shylaja said.
Meanwhile, Kuwait this week said it has introduced a new quarantine procedures to deal with anyone infected with the Nipah virus. This is in line with the directive of the World Health Organisation and it involves isolation of the infected person.
Forsyth was awarded a CBE for services to literature in 1997Getty Images
