Kerala logs 76 new Omicron cases; Cluster detected in private nursing college

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Wednesday reported 76 fresh Omicron cases taking the total number of people infected with the new variant of COVID-19 to 421, state health minister Veena George said here.

An 'Omicron cluster' was formed at a private nursing college in Pathanamthitta where the disease was suspected to have been spread from a student who was in contact with a person arrived from abroad, she said in a statement.

Of the 76 fresh cases reported on Monday, 15 were from Thrissur district, 13 from Pathanamthitta, 8 from Alappuzha, 8 from Kannur, 6 from Thiruvananthapuram, 6 from Kottayam, 6 from Malappuram, 5 from Kollam, 4 each from Kozhikode and Kasaragod and one each in Wayanad and Ernakulam.

Besides them, a person who came from Tamil Nadu also reported positive for the COVID-19 variant in the state, it added.

Of these, 59 of the Omicron-infected people came from low-risk nations and 7 from high-risk countries, it said adding that as many as 9 people were contracted the disease through contact.

The affected persons were those mainly came from UAE, Qatar, Germany, Kuwait, Ireland and Sweden.

With this, Omicron has been confirmed for a total of 421 people in the state. Of them, 290 came from low-risk countries and 85 from high-risk countries, while three affected persons were from neighbouring states.

A total of 43 people were infected through contact, the release said.