IMA declares Kerala safe destination, leads 300-strong contingent to conference in state

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) may have just delivered a huge vote of confidence to Kerala, reiterating its status as a safe destination even as it recovers smartly from isolated Nipah virus infections.

The IMA voted with its feet while taking a 300-strong contingent to Thiruvananthapuram for its conference, boosting the morale of the state administration in no small measure.

LAUDS LOCAL DOCTORS

And the IMA president Ravi Wankhedkar said as much while declaring the state as a safe destination for travel. The Nipah virus outbreak doesn’t hold any threat anymore here, he said.

He went on to laud the local doctors for smartly stopping the virus in its feared tracks. The state government and the healthcare agencies here have done a wonderful job.

They may have been handicapped by the lack of warning or previous experience, but that did not prevent them from doing just what was expected of them, and that too, in emphatic fashion.

This was achieved without any prior training or equipment. It is commendable that it took just two days or as many infections when other affected countries have taken months or a few years to do it.

'MAKING A STATEMENT'

Kerala is safe from the virus, Wankhedkar stated, adding that around 300 doctors arriving in the state for the conference was their own way of stating as much.

A seemingly relieved Kadakampally Surendran, minister for tourism, Kerala, was quick to welcome Wankedekar’s statement delivering a 'clean chit' to the state as a safe destination for travellers.

Arrival of renowned doctors in such large numbers to the state has immense significance, he said, and conveyed his salutations to them. Health minister KK Shailaja said the medical teams of the central and state governments and the private sector need to be complimented for effectively containing the outbreak.

UNDER CONTROL

"Of the 18 positive cases reported, 16 have died. The remaining two are recovering well at the Kozhikode hospital. In all, we had sent 193 samples, of which 175 were negative," she said.

“Almost 2,000 people have been reported to have come in contact with the affected and, therefore, this figure might go up. Things are in control, but we have to be very careful," said Shailaja.

But even as the situation is stated to be officially under control, people in Kozhikode district are taking extra precautions with many people seen wearing masks outdoors.

Local reports say businesses and market places are less crowded, while some movie theatres have downed shutters. The administration had advised that meetings, conventions, and such other assemblies be avoided as a matter of abundant caution.

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