PremiumVehicle checking has been intensified at the Tamil Nadu- Kerala border following the Zika virus outbreak, a PTI report said.
Tight vigil was maintained at 14 strategic points and check posts at Walayar and Meenakshipuram, official sources said
According to the sources, e-pass is mandatory for those entering the district from Kerala since the spread of Covid-19.
One more person has been infected with Zika virus in Kerala, taking the total number of cases in the state to 15.
Health minister Veena George said the samples of a 40 year-old man from Nanthancode here were sent to the National Institute of Virology at Alappuzhaand found to be positive for the vector borne infection.
So far 14 people from Thiruvananthapuram have tested positive for Zika. Samples of 17 people sent earlier were negative and in the second batch of 27 samples, one has tested positive, the minister said in a press statement.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Zika has been reported in Kerala and it was not unexpected as it is spread by the Aedes Aegypte mosquitoes, which causes dengue and Chickungunya. Vector control units at the district and state level would be further strengthened, he told reporters
Central team rushed to Kerala
The state was put on alert on Friday following the outbreak of Zika virus. Following the reports, the Centre rushed a team of experts to monitor the situation and aid the state government in management of the cases.
Joint Secretary in the Union health ministry, Lav Agarwal, said on Friday, "To monitor the situation and to support the state government, a six-member team, comprising public health experts, vector-borne disease experts and clinicians from AIIMS has already been issued instructions to reach there and support the state government in terms of management of Zika there."
(With inputs from agencies)
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