COIMBATORE: While the health department’s many efforts are expected to keep Nipah virus from entering the State, officials on the ground claim that it is not as simple as it sounds. Even something as simple as checking vehicles at Tamil Nadu-Kerala border has turned out to be difficult, they say.
A health official claims that many cars do stop at the checkpoints at Velanthavalam and Valayar. They were also not given any notice or written direction from the health department that might help convince the public that the exercise is one mandated by the government, he added. Public health department has stationed eight teams at the entry points to Coimbatore. Any person passing through the points may be checked for symptoms of high fever.
The round-the-clock vehicle check at Valayar has officials stationed there way past their working hours, another official says. Deputy Director of Health Services P G Banumathi denied such allegations and claimed that teams were given the necessary orders in this regard. The meeting planned on Friday would also help the teams know more about the preventive measures, she said.