Five more cases of Omicron reported in Kerala; tally rises to 29

Five more cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were detected in Kerala on Thursday, taking the total number of infected to 29, state Health Minister Veena George said.

As many as four people, who have reached Ernakulam, and a native of Kozhikode district have been detected with the virus.

Two persons, aged 28 and 24 who arrived from the United Kingdom, a 35-year-old person who came from Albania and another one from Nigeria were those found infected in Ernakulam, she said in a statement here.

The man, who was found infected in Kozhikode, was the one who came to the state from Bengaluru airport.

"With this, the total Omicron cases in Kerala has become 29. Of the total infected, 17 have reached the state from high-risk countries and 10 from low-risk nations. Two persons have contracted the virus through contact," George said.

Those confirmed with the virus infection in Ernakulam reached the state on December 15, 19 and 20.

While the Pathanamthitta native reached from Nigeria on December 14 and was found positive after four days during home quarantine, the man from Bengaluru airport reached Kerala on December 19.

The new variant was confirmed in the examination of their samples conducted at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology here after they turned COVID positive.

All of the infected were under treatment in hospitals and their contact list is being prepared, she added.

The state had detected its first Omicron case on December 12 in Ernakulam district when a person who had returned from the UK tested positive.