Kerala reports 63 new Omicron cases of coronavirus, tally reaches 591

Kerala reported 63 more Omicron variant cases of coronavirus on Tuesday. These took the total affected by the new variant to 591.

State Health Minister Veena George said of the 63, four belong to Tamil Nadu and have come to Kerala from various countries.

"Out of those infected today, 36 were from low-risk nations, nine from high-risk countries. Nine people reached the State from other States; and nine contracted the disease through their contacts," George said in a press release.

The Minister said seven people from Thiruvananthapuram and two in Thrissur contracted the disease from their contacts.

Six of those confirmed with the Omicron variant in Thiruvananthapuram are college students who went on a class tour. The new variant was identified during the testing as the college became a cluster, the Health Department said.

Out of the total 591 patients so far, 401 reached from low-risk countries while 101 came from high-risk nations. A total of 70 people in the State contracted the disease through their contacts while 19 people came from other States.