Kerala has seen a new outbreak of the deadly Nipah virus, which has killed two people and infected at least five so far, as informed by government officials.

As per reports, schools in the affected Kozhikode district are closed, several villages have been declared containment zones, and 950 contacts have been identified, 213 of which are considered “high risk.”

A 24-year-old health care worker Veena George has been confirmed by the Health Minister as the 5th infected person while another infected 9-year-old is reported to be under ventilation.

CM Pinarayi Vijayan of Kerala urged residents to not panic but to “face this situation with caution” and “fully cooperate with the restrictions” to prevent the disease, as per reports.

Kerala has seen four outbreaks of Nipah since 2018, the last being in 2021 along with the COVID-19 Pandemic.

As per reports, the strain identified in Kerala, known as the Bangladesh strain, has a high mortality but is less infectious.