India: Two more Omicron cases reported in Kerala

A couple travelled to the state from Sharjah diagnosed with the new Covid variant

By Web Desk

Published: Fri 17 Dec 2021, 8:16 PM

As India’s Omicron cases crossed 100, the southern state of Kerala reported two more cases of the new Covid-19 variant on Friday.

According to local media reports, a couple who travelled from Sharjah to Ernakulam on December 8 was diagnosed with Covid-19 after they developed mild symptoms. The husband had direct contact with six people while the wife’s contact list has only one person, reports quoted state’s health officials.

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The new cases took state’s Omicron patients to seven, of which three are form non-high risk countries. Officials said the co-passengers on the flight the couple travelled by had been identified.

Earlier, Indian health authorities said as many as 101 positive cases of the Omicron variant have been detected across 11 states and union territories so far.

The government advised people to keep New Year celebrations at low intensity. It said that though daily Covid-19 cases are below 10,000 for the past 20 days, there is a need to stay vigilant in view of the new variant and rising cases in other countries.

With the Omicron variant spreading very fast across Europe and other parts of the world, people need to avoid non-essential travel.

Giving details of Omicron cases in India, the government said Maharashtra has reported 32 cases of the variant, Delhi (22), Rajasthan (17), Karnataka (8), Telangana (8), Gujarat (5), Kerala (5), Andhra Pradesh (1), Chandigarh (1), Tamil Nadu (1) and West Bengal (1).

It assured that sufficient systematic and strategic sampling is being undertaken for genome sequencing for detection of Omicron cases in India.

(With inputs from PTI)